Life's Facade
by enCRYPTion5461
Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen. Rated T for language and suggestive themes.
1. New Student and the MC

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary:** **Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **What's this? Another story so soon after I updated Penelope Parker: Spider-Man? Well I've been thinking about posting this for a long while to see if people liked it, so hope you enjoy it.**_

 _ **Chapter 01: New Student and the Midnight Channel**_

 _ **Tuesday April 12th, 2011**_

Chattering could be heard as a lot of students talked to themselves with the new school year beginning, showing excitement as they talked about the plans they had and whether or not they would be able to hang out.

One student however just ignored everyone in favor of the book he was reading, slowly turning the page as his hazel eyes read it word for word despite having read it hundreds of times before while he adjusted his glasses.

This student was different because he was actually a good two or three years younger than everyone in this room, although the other students in this class all think he's the same age instead of fourteen-not that he'll ever tell them differently.

Looking up, the teen sighed and messed with his messy black hair while his black blazer was making him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Was it too much to ask for a school uniform that was comfortable rather than baggy?

"Hey you guys, I heard that there's going to be a transfer student from the city in class." A female student said catching the teen's attention as his eyes flickered towards the conversation with some interest.

"Huh? Really?" Another guy asked curiously. "A guy or a girl?"

Apparently he wasn't the only one paying attention as a tomboy looking girl with brown hair and a green jacket spoke up. "A transfer student from the city… Just like you, huh, Yosuke?" She asked a teen who was hunched over on his desk, his messy brown hair a bit frazzled while a pair of headphones hung around his neck. "Huh? You look dead today."

Yosuke adopted a pained expression. "Yeah, um… I don't want to talk about it."

The tomboy quirked a brow and looked forward to another girl who wore a red uniform with black hair going down her back. "What's with him?"

The girl in red gave a shrug. "Who knows."

At that the reserved teen stopped paying attention as while the news about a 'transfer student' sounded interesting it didn't involve him.

All he was going to do was keep his head down and get through yet another school year.

' _Easier said than done._ ' The teen thought bitterly as he remembered this was Kinshiro Mooroka's class, or as the students 'affectionately' call him, King Moron and he used the term 'affectionately' very loosely from the rumors he's heard.

As if on cue, the door opened to show a middle aged man with straight black hair in a bob cut, hazel eyes and buck teeth along with a dark navy suit that was opened to show a white shirt and a yellow/orange checkered tie.

Right behind him was a teenager that was assumed to be a transfer student with bowl shaped gray hair and matching gray eyes, wearing the conventional Yasogami High Uniform and he was pretty tall, the kid was pretty sure if he stood up now he would only come up to the guy's chest.

"Awright, shut your traps!" The middle-aged man, said showing he wasn't going to be taking any nonsense here. "I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your Homeroom Teacher from today forward."

He glanced around the room with narrowed eyes.

"First things first! Just because it's Spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons," Morooka said with conviction in his tone as if everyone in this class was thinking like that. "Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow."

' _Laying it on a bit thick, isn't he?_ ' The reserved teen thought with a quirked brow while some of the students shifted uncomfortably.

Morooka then zoomed in on him as if reading his thoughts. "Put your book away Kiyoshi!" He snapped making the reserved teen jump as the attention was on him.

Kiyoshi blinked before realizing he did leave it open and promptly closed it, his cheeks turning red as he ignored some snickers in the class while Morooka continued.

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this Transfer Student," Morooka sounded as if he was pulling his own teeth out. "This sad sack's has been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage."

Kiyoshi blinked as he heard annoyed mutterings in the class seeing as how Morooka was targeting the transfer student simply because he was from the city, the transfer looked a bit annoyed by this as well.

"And he's just as much as a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him." Morooka said looking at the transfer student. "Tell them your name kid and make it quick."

Instead however the transfer just looked at him. "You calling me a loser?" He asked with the slightest hint of a smirk earning surprised gasps from the other students who looked at him in awe, completely shocked by his brave words while Morooka's head snapped so fast to glare it was surprising he didn't suffer from whiplash.

"That's it, you're on my shit list Narukami, effective immediately," Morooka said a hint of a snarl while you could see a vein on his forehead.

While Morooka began to rant, Kiyoshi just tuned him out idly wishing he could read while the man was doing this.

He won't lie though he thought that Narukami kid was pretty cool with how he stood up to Morooka.

' _Wish I could do that._ ' Kiyoshi thought with a sigh.

* * *

Class wasn't really that interesting after that little incident, what with Narukami being the talk after what he pulled-well that and the intercoms went off urging students to remain in the building while sirens passed by the school before they were released.

Kiyoshi was just happy it took the attention off of him with being singled out earlier.

Grabbing his stuff, Kiyoshi idly saw a strange scene that resulted in Yosuke getting kicked in the nads by that tomboy Chie but walked by not getting involved. Sure he felt some sympathy for Yosuke because no one deserved to get hit there but he didn't know the guy.

Narukami ended up getting invited to walk home with Chie and her friend the girl in red Yukiko, leaving for some of the students to whisper thinking he was attempting the 'Amagi Challenge' as they call it due to how Yukiko kept turning people down when asked out.

Once again, Kiyoshi ignored it because of how he found it annoying in how people gossiped like that.

Seriously, didn't they have something better to do?

Instead he walked through the streets of Inaba, reading a book-having enough practice to walk around people while doing so and stopping at a street light.

While doing so, Kiyoshi took the time to think about the sirens he heard while in class and he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in what was going on.

Inaba was a pretty small town, so not a lot happens around here.

But if something did happen it was best to head home as soon as possible.

* * *

That evening, Kiyoshi sat in a bedroom that was pretty messy with some clothes on the floor along with a laptop and an old gaming system out and a bookshelf full of books.

Once again his Dad was working pretty late, but Kiyoshi didn't let that bother him, he was used to it-in fact he preferred it to be perfectly honest.

He briefly entertained the idea about playing a game as there wasn't any homework to do as of yet, but threw that idea away when he decided to see if the News reported what those sirens were about.

Kiyoshi managed to turn it on at the exact right moment with the announcer speaking. " _ **Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb,**_ " He began gaining Kiyoshi's interest. " _ **Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba.**_ "

That made Kiyoshi's eyes widened in shock.

" _ **The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27 year old announcer at the local television station,**_ " A picture of the woman came up with the Announcer continuing. " _ **The Initial Results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed-.**_ "

Kiyoshi however stopped listening, being lost in thought.

Mayumi Yamano, hasn't she been on the news for the last week or so because of a scandal with that Politician-what was his name? Nama-something? The man cheated on his wife with her.

And now she was dead.

' _It's none of my concern, I don't know her._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself turning away as the News continued, this next part however regaining his interest.

" _ **The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local residents roof, authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state,**_ " The Announcer explained calmly with Kiyoshi frowning at how bizarre that sounded. " _ **With the cause of death also uncertain, Police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide.**_ "

"Of course it was a homicide, how else could a body end up there?" Kiyoshi snorted in disbelief at the stupidity of the media-sure not all of them were bad but seriously to wonder that?

What, did she fall out of a Helicopter or an Airplane or something like that? That's the only way he would think it was an accident.

Having enough, Kiyoshi changed the channel to one showing a game show and found himself thinking more about that before feeling some fear.

This meant there was a killer on the loose.

' _Just stay in populated areas and stay home._ ' Kiyoshi decided as he wasn't going to take any risks with something like this happening.

" _ **~I'm tired of diets! Enough of going to the Gym, good thing there's something even I can handle!~**_ " A giggle caught Kiyoshi off guard when he realized the game show cut to a commercial showing a peppy red haired girl in a swimsuit.

Not wanting to watch that, Kiyoshi turned the TV off. "I'm more of a TaP Soda person myself." He muttered not really caring.

He would be lying if he said the girl wasn't cute but once again he didn't know her so he wasn't going to waste any time thinking about that stuff.

Plus it would be creepy if he did.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday April 13th, 2011**_

The next morning, Kiyoshi walked to school with his book back out, a bit too into it as he didn't notice someone in front of him until he bumped into them.

A bit startled, Kiyoshi ended up dropping his book. "S-S-Sorry." He said his introvert nature acting up.

Quickly grabbing his book, Kiyoshi looked to see the face of the Transfer Student, Narukami who just looked at him with a blank expression.

Truthfully that was kind of freaking him out and he kept quiet, creating what to him felt like an awkward silence.

"What were you reading?" Kiyoshi almost didn't hear Narukami but he was happy that the teen didn't sound too angry about being walked into.

"Oh uh nothing too interesting-I mean it is but-... Ranger's Apprentice," Kiyoshi said his cheeks going a bit red at how he tripped over his own words before thinking he was probably annoying the guy. "Sorry."

"For what?" Narukami asked curiously as Kiyoshi already apologized for walking into him so he didn't see what else he would be apologizing for.

Kiyoshi was saved from answering as Yosuke rode by them on his bike in a rush before a loud crash was heard and the two saw him stuck inside of a trash can trying to get out.

"S-Someone!"

Narukami and Kiyoshi just stared awkwardly for a bit before Narukami walked over and helped him out earning a gasp of relief as his head emerged from the trash cans.

"Whew, you saved me, thanks um…" Yosuke finally got a good look at Narukami and snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah that's right, you're that transfer student Yu Narukami."

When Narukami gave a nod, Yosuke smiled and held his hand out.

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura, nice to meet you." Yosuke said in a friendly tone.

Kiyoshi figured that they probably forgot about him so he went to leave before Narukami looked at him, drawing Yosuke's attention.

"Oh hey Hisoka Kiyoshi right?" Yosuke said remembering catching the two talking when he rode by in a hurry.

"Y-Yes?" Kiyoshi asked not expecting that as a lot of people typically ignore him before Narukami spoke.

"Is your bike okay?" It sounded like a serious question, but Kiyoshi blinked as he was expecting for him to ask if Yosuke was alright.

The only sign he was joking seemed to be a little twitch of his lips though.

"My bike? What about me?!" Yosuke asked with wide eyes not seeing that he was joking.

"A-Are you alright?" Kiyoshi asked to be nice with Yosuke grinning.

"I'm fine, takes more than that to keep me down." Yosuke said sounding confident. "Say did you guys hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna."

He kind of winced at bringing that up but it was the only thing he could think of to talk about with these two.

"W-Who didn't?" Kiyoshi muttered before wincing as that sounded condescending. "Sorry."

Yosuke blinked at that but he continued. "So you think that was some kind of warning?" He asked continuing where he left off. "There's no way that type of thing could've happened by accident."

"Obviously." Narukami said not really paying no mind to it.

"Still dangling a dead body over a rooftop like that, that's just messed up," Yosuke gave a sigh, thinking that over as he grimaced. "Then again it's pretty messed up to kill somebody in the first place."

Kiyoshi gave a nod to show his agreement while Narukami just kept his face blank.

"Oh crap!" Yosuke just looked at his watch. "We're late!"

"W-What?!" Kiyoshi asked a bit worried as he really didn't want to be singled out by Morooka again.

"You guys need a lift, it's squeaky but it should be fine." Yosuke offered.

"Sure." Narukami accepted but Kiyoshi looked a bit skeptical.

"N-No offense b-but how would you carry the two of us on that?" Kiyoshi said before shaking his head and forcing out. "Bye."

With that he took off running.

"Huh, that was weird." Yosuke muttered looking at Narukami who shrugged.

Thankfully Kiyoshi made it to school on time and apparently both Yosuke and Narukami were able to make it there with no incident as well.

"Be quiet you idiots!" Morooka snapped right as soon as the bell rang. "You guys are in High School aren't you?! Can't you shut up during class? Don't any of you have any common sense?"

' _You're the only one talking._ ' Kiyoshi thought just sitting there while Morooka went on about common sense and philosophy. ' _How is this guy a teacher?_ '

Despite the little rant, Morooka did get back to his job of teaching and school was over before he knew it, so Kiyoshi was gathering his stuff when he saw Yosuke and Narukami talking along with Chie and Yukiko before the Amagi girl left because of something to do with her family's business.

Kiyoshi shook his head to force himself not to listen in when he gathered his stuff, but when he got up, his backpack ripped and dumped his stuff out, the clattering of his utensils and notebooks drawing some attention making him go red as he quickly went to gather them all up.

"Here." Kiyoshi blinked when Narukami walked over to help.

"Oh-uh thanks Narukami-San." Kiyoshi said a bit embarrassed before sighing as he looked at his backpack while muttering. "Look's like I'll have to replace this."

"Narukami you coming or what?" Yosuke's voice caught the transfer's attention.

"I have it from here." Kiyoshi said with a nervous grin.

"... You want to come with?" Narukami offered surprising Kiyoshi who stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"I-I appreciate it but I don't know-not that I don't think it would be boring," Kiyoshi said the words escaping before he could stop them. "Wait-no I mean-."

Narukami just placed a hand in front of him to have him slow down as Kiyoshi was making too big of a deal out of a simple invite.

"S-Sorry."

"You apologize way too much." Narukami stated with Kiyoshi fidgeting.

"... Sorry." Kiyoshi then did a face palm as he did it again before finally answering the question. "Uh… S-Sure, if you don't mind."

Narukami gave a nod as he left the classroom, Kiyoshi running after him.

"There you are, what took you-?" Yosuke stopped when he saw Kiyoshi behind Narukami the former fidgeting a bit when the brunette blinked. "Oh hey Kiyoshi what's up?"

"H-Hi." Kiyoshi returned the greeting with a timid smile. "N-Narukami-San invited me is that okay?"

Yosuke blinked blanching a bit as he realized he now had to treat three people but Chie spoke up. "Sure it's okay why wouldn't it be?" She said giving a friendly smile. "I'm Chie Satonaka."

"Hisoka Kiyoshi." Kiyoshi returned quietly, looking awkward.

"Right, well let's get going." Yosuke said deciding to get this over with, although there would be a small change of plans.

* * *

"This is the cheap place you were talking about?" Chie snapped as they were all in a courtyard of the local Junes Supermarket, Yosuke coming back with their food showing Takoyaki. "They don't have grilled steak here."

Yosuke scoffed and crossed his arms while sitting down. "Yeah well, once you hopped on the freeloader train I had to change plans, I only had enough for two steaks not four!"

Kiyoshi suddenly found his soda interesting and took a sip at hearing that, he listened to the conversation while idly sipping his drink.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place." Chie told him with a frown.

Now Yosuke gave her a look. "Hey this isn't my place," He said grabbing some Takoyaki to place in his mouth. "Besides you have any better ideas that I can afford?"

"A few." Chie commented as an argument looked like it was going to take place.

Thankfully, Narukami spoke up. "Your place?"

"Oh right you just moved here so you wouldn't know, my Dad's the manager of Junes, we moved from the city about six months ago same as you," Yosuke explained sounding a bit off, Narukami gave a nod at that. "The location just opened up and my Dad was assigned to manage it."

The sound of slurping caught their attention causing them to look at Kiyoshi who had a 'deer in headlights' look on his face as he didn't realize his soda was gone, bringing attention to him.

"Dude you need to speak up, I forgot you were there." Yosuke commented a bit freaked while Kiyoshi laughed sheepishly, wincing at that last part.

"R-Right." Kiyoshi muttered used to that as he always seemed to blend into the background.

"Well here Narukami, this is to welcome you to town." Yosuke said gesturing to one of the other soda's as the guy grabbed it.

With that said the three made small talk while Kiyoshi only said yes or no whenever he was brought in, not sure what to say.

"You don't talk much do you?" Chie finally asked after a few moments.

This time Kiyoshi only shook his head, taking a small bite of Takoyaki. "I-I-I'm just not t-that good of a talker." He said embarrassed. "So Junes seems to be pretty nice today."

"Yeah it's only been half a year since this place opened up, but I haven't been in the local shopping district much since," Chie commented eating some of her food. "A lot of stores there started closing and… Oh uh-."

Yosuke looked a bit uncomfortable. "You can't blame it all on Junes can you?" He asked not sure if he wanted to hear the answer or not.

As he sighed, the sound of a chair scraping caught their attention making them look over a few tables to see a young woman with long, wavy brown hair and gray eyes wearing the Junes store apron.

"Hey it's Saki-Senpai," Yosuke said his voice changing from uncomfortable to happiness. "Sorry, be right back."

Kiyoshi tilted his head as Yosuke walked towards this Saki, not sure if that was a good idea with how tired she looked but decided not to voice his opinion.

"Is that Yosuke's Girlfriend?" Narukami asked earning a bit of a snort from Chie.

"Haha, he wishes." Chie said with a smile.

"R-Really?" Kiyoshi asked not expecting that.

"Uh-huh, that's Saki Konishi. Her family runs the Liquor Store in the Shopping District," Chie explained while Kiyoshi looked a bit closer before recognizing her. "I think she works here part-time though."

"H-Hey isn't she a t-third year?" Kiyoshi asked with Chie nodding.

"Yeah, she's only a year older than us," Chie commented with a shrug. "Yosuke really likes her."

She then grinned and grabbed some of Yosuke's Takoyaki in payment for something she called 'Trial of the Dragon' before holding one out to a surprised Kiyoshi-the guy kind of reminding her of Yukiko a bit.

* * *

"Hey how's it going, you look beat." Yosuke said surprising Saki as she looked at him before she smiled tiredly.

"Heeey! I'm finally on a break, what's up Hana-Chan?" Saki asked using her nickname she had for him before seeing Narukami, Chie and Kiyoshi talking nearby. "Boosting the family business by bringing your friends here?"

"Madame, you wound me," Yosuke said a bit dramatically, holding a hand to his chest, earning a small giggle from Saki before he looked concerned. "All joking aside though are you alright? You look pretty pale. Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired," Saki said putting a smile on her face. "You don't have to worry Hana-Chan."

Yosuke gave a nod, seeing that she didn't want to talk about it as he reached back and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you say so, if you need to talk though I'm always willing to listen-."

"I'm okay," Saki said with a grateful look on her tired face. "Thanks though."

But when she looked away, her face adopted a frown.

"Why'd I leave school early yesterday?" She sighed, Yosuke barely hearing her before she brightened up. "Hey… Is that the kid who transferred here?"

Yosuke kept his worried look, even as Saki made her way towards the group he hung out with. ' _Just what did she mean by that last part?_ ' He thought focusing on how she left school early the other day.

Did something happen that caused for her to be this way?

"Are you the transfer student?" Saki asked surprising Narukami who gave a nod.

"I am, Konishi right?"

"Oh heard about me already?" Saki asked a smile on her face, although it seemed a bit more forced for some reason. "It must be nice to have someone from the big city to talk to, huh?"

Knowing she meant Yosuke, Narukami gave a nod as she continued.

"I don't see Hana-Chan hanging out with the other guys much," Saki continued with Kiyoshi blinking and mouthing 'Hana-Chan' to Chie in confusion while she snickered, earning a slight glare from a blushing Yosuke. "He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along well."

"S-Senpai." Yosuke rubbed the back of his head at that.

"Hana-Chan is a good guy, but he can get a bit nosy sometimes," Saki continued a bit of a mischievous smile on her face. "You have to tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

' _Okay even I have to admit that's harsh to say._ ' Kiyoshi thought with a bit of a wide-eyed stare. ' _Especially considering Yosuke is only three feet away from her._ '

Narukami just tilted his head when he offered his opinion. "Nah, he's a great guy." He said going from his first impression leading for Yosuke to give him a grateful look.

"Ahaha, I know." Saki said still smiling. "I'm just kidding."

Kiyoshi looked at her and wasn't too sure as she was looking pretty pale, then again she could be tired because he heard about how busy it could get in Junes.

"C-Come on Senpai," Yosuke looked at her nearly tripping over his own words just like how Kiyoshi did a bit ago. "You don't have to worry about that."

"I know Hana-Chan, but I still do," Saki said while checking the time. "Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go… Laters."

"Oh, uh Senpai?" Yosuke tried but sighed when she was out of earshot soon before sitting back down. "Hahah, Saki-Senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than I am. She has a younger brother and pretty much treats me the same way."

"Ooh, you don't want her to treat you like a brother huh?" Chie's wide grin had Yosuke on edge with him giving her a careful look. "Haha I get it, so that's how it is."

"What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked cautiously.

"The daughter of the local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain," Chie said flourishing her hands a bit dramatically. "The flames of forbidden love."

"Wha-?!" Yosuke's whole face turned a shade of red at what she was implying. "Dude, it's not like that."

"S-S-Seems like it t-to me." Kiyoshi got out with Narukami giving a solemn nod.

"Agreed."

"Man you guys are ganging up on me-what happened to my Takoyaki?!" Yosuke looked down to eat only to notice his plate devoid of food.

Kiyoshi looked away while Chie went to change the conversation. "Right well I happen to know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart."

"It was you wasn't it?" Yosuke deadpanned, sighing as he knew he wouldn't get an answer. "I'm never leaving my food unattended again."

"You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?" Chie asked confusing Narukami and Yosuke.

Kiyoshi however spoke up surprisingly. "I-Isn't that the r-r-rumor about the T-TV that comes on at M-M-Midnight?" He asked looking at her curiously.

He heard of it but not what it was really about.

Chie gave a nod. "Right you are, you're supposed to look at it exactly at Midnight on a rainy night, while you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen and they say that person is your soulmate."

Yosuke didn't look too amused. "And here I thought you were actually going to say something useful," He said shaking his head. "How could you get so excited over a Urban Legend like that?"

"Childish?!" Chie asked a tinge of annoyance in her tone. "You don't believe it do you?!"

"Of course I don't." Yosuke told her.

Narukami looked at Chie. "It is unbelievable." He voiced taking a sip of his soda. "As far as Urban Legends go."

Kiyoshi fidgeted a bit as he tried to look comfortable. "T-T-They have a p-point, sorry."

Frowning at the three of them for a lack of faith, Chie smirked when a thought came to her. "Well it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out."

"Hold up, try it out?" Yosuke parroted now looking amused, leaning back in his seat. "Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself? Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid."

Chie was now glaring daggers at him.

"All that aside, you know that incident yesterday?" Yosuke asked, changing the subject. "You guys think it was murder?"

"W-What else could it be?" Kiyoshi asked talking a bit more frequently then when this little hang-out session started.

"Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around?" Yosuke teased with Kiyoshi turning extremely pale at the thought.

"You shouldn't joke about stuff like that, now who's the childish one?" Chie gave Yosuke a glare, mollifying him a bit.

"Yeah you have a point." Yosuke muttered.

"Anyways you guys better try this out tonight." Chie told them firmly.

"I'll be up unpacking anyways so I'll try it." Narukami promised.

"Fine, I'll give it a shot." Yosuke said to appease her.

Kiyoshi just gave a nod, showing he would look into it.

* * *

That evening, Kiyoshi sat quietly in his bedroom, eating a Rice Ball, his eyes on the News for that evening.

" _ **Next, more details in the developing story on the incident in foggy Inaba,"**_ The Reporter began with Kiyoshi swallowing what he was chewing as he began to pay more attention. " _ **It is confirmed that Ms. Yamano had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi.**_ "

"The scandal again, really?" Kiyoshi asked in annoyance.

Then again could this whole murder be tied to a love quarrel? If so then this should hopefully be wrapped up in another day or two.

" _ **The Police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them. In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body.**_ "

Kiyoshi took another bite of the rice ball only to nearly choke on it as it showed the student.

Despite the face being blur, he recognized Saki on the News.

Coughing to get some air, Kiyoshi looked at the News more intently. ' _Was this why she looked so tired earlier?_ '

" _ **What went through your mind when you saw it? Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?**_ "

" _ **U-Umm...**_ " Saki replied her voice distorted although you could tell she was put off by the reporter's enthusiasm.

" _ **Don't you think it's scary that someone was killed on a foggy day?**_ "

" _ **Huh...? She was killed?**_ "

" _ **Oh, errr...So did you see anyone suspicious around here?**_ "

" _ **No, not really...**_ "

" _ **We heard that you found it when you left school early. Did you have some personal business to take care of?**_ "

" _ **Huh? That's...**_ "

"For crying out loud, leave her alone." Kiyoshi said a scowl on his face at how the reporter was most likely trying to find something to add to the story at the expense of Saki.

"— _ **a tragedy that occurred near the local shopping district. Many store owners are raising concerns about losing customers as a result...**_ "

Kiyoshi just rolled his eyes at how this guy seemed to be blowing everything out of proportion, if anyone loses customers it's because of this guy right as another reporter joined him.

" _ **It really is a bizarre care, isn't it? I mean, hanging someone upside down from an antenna… I'd have to say it a warning or a sign from the culprit.**_ "

" _ **Yes, but so far, no one has come forward to take credit for the crime.**_ "

" _ **So the cause of death is still unknown? And they don't have a single suspect yet? Taxpayers' funds are going to a police force who can't even figure out if this is an accident or a homicide?**_ "

It was at that moment when Kiyoshi turned the TV off, sick of hearing any more news.

He's pretty sure the Police knows it's a homicide and are working their butts off trying to find whoever did this. Checking the time he saw he still had a few hours before midnight.

' _Might as well play a game-._ ' Kiyoshi froze, tensing all over when he heard the front door slam shut.

Soon the familiar smell of Sake hit his nose and he slowly locked his door, intent on not leaving his room for the whole night.

' _Better find a better way to pass the time until midnight._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself, grabbing his book to study for any upcoming tests.

Rain was soon pattering on his window while Kiyoshi studied, glancing at the clock every few minutes to make sure he wouldn't miss it.

' _Still you see your soulmate inside of a TV? Where did Chie-San hear that?_ ' Kiyoshi wondered briefly, seeing he now had a few more seconds before midnight so he got up and walked to his TV, turning the light off.

It was extremely dark while he stared at the TV, slowly feeling like an idiot as it remained blank.

"Of course it won't happen." Kiyoshi muttered, kicking himself for believing it-.

The TV turned itself on, making Kiyoshi shut up and look at it with wide-eyes.

A blurred image of a girl appeared on the screen, flickering every few seconds-it seemed to be repeating the same scene over and over again showing the girl in pain-.

' _Wait she looks familiar._ ' Kiyoshi tried to look closer but the TV shut itself off, leaving him to stare at the now blank TV with morbid fascination.

Just what did he see?

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Alright, hope you enjoyed the first chapter to my Persona fanfic, much like the DBXenoverse/YJ story it's about an OC I created and instead of him/her replacing Narukami like some of the fics do-most of them being crossovers, I figured why not do something like this.**_

 _ **I have a lot planned for Kiyoshi to go through and no doubt some of you figured out the problem he faces from the small hints that showed in this chapter. I have a small idea on what pairing to use for Kiyoshi if I do that but for now just him trying to get out of his shell.**_

 _ **Or I might just do a sequel where he gets pulled into his own adventure if I finish this one, who knows?**_

 _ **So tell me what you think and I'll get back to you all soon.**_


	2. Inside the TV

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 02: Inside the TV**_

 _ **Thursday April 14th, 2011**_

The rain didn't let up at all the next day with Kiyoshi walking through the streets of Inaba, holding an umbrella above his head as he carried his books due to the fact that he didn't think about buying a damn bag while he was at Junes the other day much to his ire.

As he walked however, Kiyoshi thought back to the image he saw on the Midnight Channel.

It was too blurry to make out who that was but he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he knew that girl from somewhere.

' _Probably saw her around the school._ ' Kiyoshi told himself, shaking his head before he sneezed. ' _Last thing I need is to catch a cold from the rain._ '

With that thought he rushed to class.

* * *

Yet another day passed by this time with History Class going on from one of the stranger teachers in the school who wore an egyptian headdress for some odd reason.

Kiyoshi however hasn't paid any attention in class for once as he actually wanted to get back to the others about the Midnight Channel-just to make sure he didn't hallucinate considering it was watched at a late hour.

"Man what was with that body being upside down? That was so freaky." Kiyoshi felt some annoyance at this conversation.

"Was it supposed to be mimicking an execution? It's messed up."

' _I shouldn't be surprised, with this being a small town this might be the talk for a long time._ ' Kiyoshi thought as he was tired of hearing about this, sure it was sad and messed up that it happened but people didn't need to keep bringing it up.

"My Senpai told me it was a third-year student named Saki who found the body." Kiyoshi turned his head away in time to see Yosuke slowly approach Narukami and got up to follow as he was curious about what they saw on the Midnight Channel.

"Y-Yo, um…" Yosuke looked a little at a loss for words while Narukami looked at him curiously. "It's uh, it's not really important but uh-."

"Wow, I thought I was the one who tripped over their own words." Those words were out before Kiyoshi could stop them before he winced. "... Sorry."

"Nah it's cool Kiyoshi," Yosuke said with a smile before he coughed to compose himself. "Well yesterday on the TV, I uh…"

He trailed off, unsure of how to say this right as Chie made her way towards them.

"Yosuke did you hear the rumor?" Chie asked gaining their attention.

"W-Which one?" Kiyoshi asked considering there were hundreds of rumors floating around Inaba.

"The one where Saki-Senpai's the one who discovered the body."

Kiyoshi blinked before his eyes widened in realization.

The girl on the Midnight Channel, the one who looked to be in pain that was Saki.

He was sure of it as despite the blurry figure it resembled her quite a bit.

"I wonder if that's why she looked so down… She doesn't seem to be at school today either." Yosuke cupped his chin in thought.

"M-Maybe she c-caught a cold?" Kiyoshi suggested deciding to keep what he discovered to himself for now as considering the rumor was seeing the person on the Midnight Channel was supposed to be your soulmate, he wasn't too sure about sharing that with Yosuke considering how he cared for her.

Then again, Kiyoshi had a feeling that the whole soulmate part was the wrong part of this rumor given what it showed so far.

"It is possible with the rain." Narukami voiced his agreement.

After a moment Yosuke sighed looking relieved. "Y-Yeah that could be it." He said agreeing with them right as Yukiko who sat nearby stood up catching their attention.

"Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?" Chie asked catching her friends attention.

"Things are really out of hand now… I'm sorry." Yukiko said apologizing for not being able to hang out with her friend.

Kiyoshi blinked before remembering that Yukiko's family owned the Amagi Inn-which was pretty obvious in hindsight considering her last name was Amagi.

"Is it just me or did Yukiko-San seem way too stressed out today?" Yosuke asked curiously.

"W-Well it is p-pretty busy at the Inn during t-this time of year." Kiyoshi pointed out as they have quite a few tourists in Inaba during spring.

"Yeah she's usually run ragged when it's busy." Chie said sounding worried before she looked at the guys. "By the way, did you guys see… It last night?"

"Huh? Uh well, what about you?" Yosuke returned nervously, obviously not wanting to say anything first.

"I-I did." Kiyoshi said relieved that they were getting to the part he wanted to find out.

Chie turned towards him instead of answering Yosuke. "Who did you see?"

"Um… A girl from school with brown hair," Kiyoshi said forcing himself not to stutter, not seeing the shocked faces on Yosuke and Chie. "And well-."

"Wait did she look like she was in pain?" Yosuke asked surprising Kiyoshi who nodded. "T-That's the same one I saw."

"No way, same here. So what, do we all have the same soulmate?" Chie asked a bit nervously as this wasn't what she expected when she suggested to watch it.

"Could be." Narukami said like it was nothing making Yosuke blink.

"Wait, what about you Narukami? Did you see it?" Yosuke asked now wanting to get to the bottom of this with Narukami giving a nod.

"I saw it, right before I heard some weird voices and my TV tried to eat me."

It got pretty silent as the three just stared at Narukami who said all of that with a straight face.

Kiyoshi was looking at him as if expecting to see a twitch of him trying not to laugh but he was pretty stoic about this.

"R-Right, well weird voices and images aside your TV tried to eat you?" Yosuke laughed it off to try and make sense of it. "Were you that tired last night?"

Narukami blinked and looked at Yosuke while Kiyoshi sighed.

"O-Of course y-you must've fallen asleep in front of the T-TV." Kiyoshi said feeling relieved.

Narukami felt a twinge of annoyance but didn't say anything, understanding why they thought that. ' _Good thing I didn't bring up I hit my head after that._ ' He thought the back of his head aching from when it slammed into the table in his room after he managed to pull himself out.

"It would be one interesting dream though, I like the part where you got stuck because the TV was small," Chie was giggling as she spoke. "If it had been bigger-."

Her eyes lit up as she remembered something.

"Oh that reminds me, my family's been talking about buying a bigger TV."

"Oh yeah," Yosuke asked with a grin. "Well flat screens are definitely in these days, want to go check them out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics this month."

"Definitely, my Parents don't know anything about electronics and I've just got to see my Kung-Fu movies on the big screen," Chie said striking a pose to prove her point. "Hwa-taaaa!"

"I-I need to get a n-new backpack, is there a s-sale for them t-too?" Kiyoshi asked curiously with Yosuke giving a nod.

"Well you missed the deals on them but we still have plenty of backpacks for sale," Yosuke said with Kiyoshi giving a nod before the brunette looked back at Narukami. "We've got some pretty big TV's in stock, I'd bet they're big enough for you to fit into."

* * *

It didn't take long for them to be at Junes, although Kiyoshi hung in the back while Yosuke, Chie and Narukami spoke, after dropping his school supplies off at home to avoid carrying them in the store.

He would be lying if he said this wasn't fun, however he wasn't getting his hopes up at the thought of making friends.

They weren't really the first people to 'hang-out' with him or invite him somewhere, however the people who did got pretty tired of how he was pretty quickly and just stopped associating with him.

So he knew that eventually these guys would stop as well.

They always did.

"Wow, this is huge!" Chie's voice startled Kiyoshi out of his thoughts making him realize they just made it to the Electronics. "And… Holy crap, it's expensive. Who buys something like this?"

"I dunno, rich folks?" Yosuke shrugged, not really understanding that himself. "Honestly not many people shop for TV's here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

"That's p-pretty weird." Kiyoshi muttered while Chie looked thoughtful.

"Huh, not worth trying, well at least looking is free."

"That it is Chie-San, that it is." Yosuke said before grinning at both her and Kiyoshi and tilting his head to the TV.

Kiyoshi blinked in confusion while Chie caught on and in a second the two were placing their hand on the screen as if trying to go in-.

' _Oh._ ' Kiyoshi thought while he saw Narukami didn't look that amused.

"Nope. Can't get in, figures." Yosuke had a smirk on his face.

Chie gave a laugh, backing up in the process. "This proves it, this was all a dream."

"I-Isn't that a b-bit much?" Kiyoshi asked not really comfortable with that, absently scratching his cheek.

"Come on Kiyoshi-San live a bit," Yosuke said with a grin. "After all these flat screens are so thin that if you did go into them you'd just end up on the other side."

Yosuke then shook his head.

"Oh what am I saying?" Yosuke muttered deciding to stop as Narukami looked a bit more annoyed. "So Chie, what kind of TV are your folks in the Market for?"

Chie thought for a moment, looking at Yosuke. "They said they wanted a cheap one," She said after a bit. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well Miss," Yosuke began in his best business tone, leading Chie down the row of televisions. "Might I suggest this one over here? It's the newest model, just released this spring."

"What?! That's not cheap at all!" Chie protested loudly at him. "That's way too many zeroes!"

"I-I should go g-get my b-backpack," Kiyoshi muttered looking towards Narukami to see him frowning a bit as he approached the big screen TV. "N-Narukami-San-?"

The words Kiyoshi were saying died the moment Narukami placed his hand on the screen and it went in with ripples showing around his hand making him stare as he felt his mouth drop open a bit.

This was… What?

"Huh, it worked." Narukami said in what was beginning to be a normal deadpanned tone.

"Hey Narukami, what sort of TV are… You?" Yosuke turned to see the scene and slowly blinked. "W-What?"

"Huh? Hanamura are you alright?" Chie asked in concern at how he just stopped talking and followed his gaze to see Narukami with his hand in the TV, giving a gasp in the process.

"Is his arm-?" Yosuke asked hesitantly. "Inside of the TV?"

"Oh good you're seeing this to," Kiyoshi said without stuttering as his mind was having trouble processing this. "I thought I went crazy."

"Uh is this some sort of new model?" Chie asked not sure what was happening, looking back at Yosuke. "Like a new function or something like that?"

"New function?!" Yosuke looked at Chie as if she was crazy. "Hell no!"

With that the two joined Narukami and Kiyoshi at the TV screen, the two were hoping that they were seeing a trick with Narukami getting back at them because they were far away but on coming closer they saw that his arm was literally in the TV screen with ripples surrounding it.

A bit awed at that, Kiyoshi approached and placed a hand on it, his hand going in as well due to whatever Narukami was doing. "Ah Kiyoshi-San what are you doing?!" Yosuke asked a bit freaked out by this.

"Oh my God," Chie whispered before Narukami took it a step further and placed his head in. "What the hell?!"

"There's empty space in here." Narukami called out, Kiyoshi taking his hand out to quickly inspect the back, not seeing Narukami's face on it showing that wherever his head was, it wasn't there.

"What do you mean empty space?! In here?!" Yosuke looked about ready to lose it.

"Now I want to see." Kiyoshi muttered his curiosity getting the better of him and can you blame him?

Something like this happening in front of him, how could he not?

"Will someone make sense of what's going on?!" Chie finally shouted with Kiyoshi wondering how a store clerk hasn't approached this aisle yet before seeing Yosuke pale as he began to dance on his feet.

"Oh man this is too much for my bladder." Yosuke whimpered, Chie now giving him a disgusted look.

"Are you going to pee your pants?! Gross!"

"Wasn't there a bathroom two aisles down?" Kiyoshi asked cupping his chin, trying to remember.

"I've been holding it in all day, I'm going to explode." Yosuke ran off but the moment he got to the end of the aisle he turned and ran back. "Shit, customers are coming."

"What?! But we have a guy half-stuck in the TV here." Chie said in a panic, both her and Yosuke running around in a panic while Kiyoshi was paying more attention to the TV-.

Yosuke tripped bumping into Chie who bumped into Kiyoshi, making him slam into Narukami the four of them falling through the TV right as customers came around the corner, looking confused to see it empty after hearing a lot of noise.

* * *

All Kiyoshi could see was yellow fog as cold air rushed past him, before he slammed into the ground, his glasses going flying.

Painfully pushing himself up, Kiyoshi had no chance as Chie, Yosuke and Narukami landed on top of him, rolling from the momentum with Kiyoshi groaning in pain.

"Ow I think I broke something." Yosuke muttered, rubbing his butt with Chie pushing herself up.

"W-Where are we?" She asked with slight fear, not knowing what was going on.

Narukami already stood up and was looking around with some curiosity on his face.

Looking around, Chie noticed that Kiyoshi wasn't moving. "Uh guys."

"Huh what is-?" Yosuke stopped his eyes widening. "Oh crap."

"I'm just in pain," Kiyoshi muttered seeing that they thought he died for a second. "You wouldn't move too if three people fell on top of you."

Come to think of it shouldn't this have happened to Narukami since he was the first one in?

"Thank goodness," Yosuke breathed in relief not wanting to deal with the possibility of a dead body inside of a TV before realizing what else Kiyoshi said. "Oh uh sorry about that."

Kiyoshi finally pushed himself up and grabbed his glasses, amazed that they didn't break or that someone didn't step on them when Chie spoke. "So… Uh… We're still alive… Right?"

' _I know I am considering I'm still in pain._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself more annoyed than anything else as he finally got a good look around despite the area being completely foggy. ' _Is this a TV studio?_ '

"Are you three alright?" Narukami asked out of concern for the them.

"I think my butt's cracked now." Yosuke muttered in pain earning an eye roll from Chie.

"Of course it is."

"I'm fine," Kiyoshi said rubbing his back. "Might need a chiropractor though."

"Whoa." Yosuke muttered with wide eyes.

"What now?" Chie asked a bit annoyed. "Did you wet your pants?"

At that question, Yosuke glared at her. "No stupid," He snapped at her. "Look around."

"You mean the fact that we're at a studio?" Kiyoshi asked with Yosuke nodding.

"Seems like it," Narukami agreed looking around trying to see clearly. "But for what?"

"And what's with this fog or is it smoke?" Chie crossed her arms. "There's no place like this in Inaba."

"Kind of debatable considering we're here." Kiyoshi muttered earning a slight frown from Chie.

"You're pretty talkative all of a sudden." Narukami noted with Kiyoshi blinking.

"I think it's because I'm still in shock of the fact we're inside of a freaking TV." Kiyoshi said as while he wanted to poke his head in to see what it looked like he didn't want to fall in.

"I know what you mean, this place is huge." Yosuke commented taking a few steps, his footsteps echoing in the area.

"What are we going to do?" Chie asked the million dollar question, a worried look on her face.

"Let's look around." Narukami suggested, Kiyoshi nodding in agreement.

"Yeah we got in so there has to be a way out," Kiyoshi shivered a bit. "I have a bad feeling."

"Good, I thought it was just me." Yosuke muttered, a bead of nervous sweat dripping down his forehead.

"But where would we start looking?! We can barely see in front of us." Chie protested, clearly wanting to get out of there.

"Well we can't just stand here, who would think to look for us in here?" Yosuke asked trying to keep himself calm. "So we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope there's an exit."

All of them gave a nod and began to walk in a random direction, taking care to stay close together to avoid being separated.

* * *

The four just kept silent, looking around nervously the fog getting thicker and thicker the further they moved in. Kiyoshi found it pretty hard to breathe and from how everyone was acting they felt the same way.

The only one who wasn't nervous was Narukami, in fact Kiyoshi swore he saw some interest in his eyes but didn't comment on it.

He was also interested but right now his fear was overriding it.

He just wanted to go home and never come back to this place again.

They came to a stop in the middle of a stone walkway. "What is this place?" Chie finally asked the surroundings changed from a TV Studio to an apartment hallway. "It feels different from where we were before."

"Um anyone else see the weird door?" Kiyoshi asked pointing forward as instead of a door itself there was some weird red and black vortex that was swirling in the center.

"I feel like we're in a horror movie," Yosuke muttered his heart racing so he was trying to make a joke to calm down. "The fog, this weird atmosphere I feel like a monster is about to pop-urk?!"

Yosuke held his stomach as Chie kicked him. "Shut up, don't even joke like that!" She shouted freaked out.

"Y-You didn't have to kick me." Yosuke muttered doubling over in pain.

"Come on." Narukami said walking towards the Vortex, Chie running after him as she wanted to get out of here.

"Y-You alright?" Kiyoshi asked the shock leaving his system to where he was beginning to act like himself again.

"I'm good," Yosuke muttered glaring at Chie before chuckling. "To be fair I guess I did deserve that one."

"... At least it wasn't the nads." Kiyoshi said before he could stop himself, surprising Yosuke before he laughed looking a little calmer.

"Very true." He said walking towards the door. "Come on, we should catch up."

On entering the vortex the fog was practically gone allowing them to see that they were in a large hotel room with a bed in the far corner, a window with the curtains pulled back to give the room a yellow-lighting, a potted plant that was hunched over between the window and bed along with a bookcase above the bed.

"Does someone live here?" Kiyoshi asked in surprise, before seeing Narukami along. "Where's Satonaka-San?"

"We were separated in the vortex." Narukami said, Yosuke entering right as he said that giving a start at seeing Kiyoshi.

"Weren't you right behind me?" He asked walking up to them before looking at the bed. "Wait is it me or is the fog lighter here?"

"It's lighter." Narukami answered.

Deciding to try something, Yosuke took his phone out. "No service, what a surprise." He said sarcastically before Chie finally entered the room.

"Can you guys slow down a little?" She asked surprised to see Yosuke and Kiyoshi when she clearly entered the room before them. "It's hard enough to see where you're going without being separated."

The three boys turned towards her, their bodies tensing with Yosuke and Kiyoshi's faces changing to sheer terror while Narukami looked calm with a quirked brow.

"What?" Chie asked turning and gasping, her face going pale at the sight, taking a step back in shock.

Due to how they entered, they didn't see the rest of the room with posters lined up on the wall all of them were of some woman in a Kimono-the face slashed off with a knife and blood-like stains splattered on the wall.

"... Okay now we're in a horror movie." Yosuke whispered not even joking this time.

"It's a dead-end, there's no exit." Chie said freaked out looking around frantically.

"Not to mention it keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go in." Yosuke said before he let out a scream making Chie freak out with Kiyoshi trying to back away to hide behind Narukami who looked calm. "I can't hold it in any longer. My bladders going to explode!"

Just like that the fear in Chie was replaced with anger. "I thought something bad was happening you idiot-what are you doing?!"

 _ **-Zip-**_

"Look away I can't pee if someone's watching and I don't want to piss my pants." Yosuke said Chie gaining a disgusting look.

"Hanamura this is somebody's room are you crazy?!"

Kiyoshi just looked away not wanting to see anything and willing to let Yosuke get some privacy, stumbling as he did so.

It was getting extremely harder to breathe the longer they stayed there.

Was something wrong with the air?

"Aargh! I can't do it." Yosuke muttered as not everyone looked away. "It's your fault if my bladder explodes."

"Like I care." Chie said with Yosuke zipping his pants up. "Still these posters just who is this woman?"

"No clue but someone clearly hates her." Kiyoshi muttered trying to keep himself calm.

"Dude." Yosuke's voice sounded like he was trying and failing to be calm with the others looking towards him as he found something else wrong in the room.

He was standing next to a lone chair in the middle of the room, although his widen eyes were staring at the scarf above it, tied into the shape of a noose.

"This chair and rope, that kind of setup is never good." Yosuke said backing up. "I-Is that a scarf?"

"C-Can we leave?" Kiyoshi asked, Chie quick to agree with him.

"Y-Yeah I don't like it here," Chie hugged her arms together. "We should head back and find another place to look."

They almost made it out the door when Yosuke paused to look at the poster. "Hey… I think I've seen that poster somewhere before." He muttered crossing his arms in thought.

"R-Really?" Kiyoshi asked in surprise before Chie shook her head.

"Who cares?! Let's get out of here!" Chie said looking at him before coughing. "And I don't feel good."

"Now that you mention it, me too." Yosuke muttered holding his pounding head while Kiyoshi nearly fell over from exertion.

Something about this place was really messing with them.

"Alright let's go back." Yosuke muttered.

* * *

None of them knew how long it took but eventually they made it back to the place where they started, their bodies feeling heavier and heavier as they moved.

"Finally." Chie said with a sigh of relief before pausing. "Wait… What's that?!"

Following her gaze, the guys paled at seeing a shape taking place in the fog.

"Th-There's something over there." Yosuke yelped in a panic.

The shape got nearer, each footstep making a squeaking sound before the figure came to a stop in front of the four teens.

They could barely see what it was in the fog. "W-What is this thing?" Chie asked in fear. "A monkey? A bear?"

To Kiyoshi it looked like some sort of stuffed animal with blue fur wearing a red and white jumpsuit for clothing. It did look like a very strange bear though.

"What in the world?" Yosuke breathed, unsure of what to say to this.

"Today just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Kiyoshi muttered quietly.

Not quiet enough though given how the 'bear' frowned. "And just who are you calling weird buster?!" He snapped pointing at Kiyoshi making him back up in surprise. "Now who are you guys?"

"I-It talks?!" Chie looked freaked out before getting into a stance. "W-What are you?! Y-You wanna fight?!"

Just like that the bear was cowering in fear. "D-Don't yell at me like that."

Narukami took over before something could happen. "What is this place?" He asked curiously, his question breaking the bear from his fear.

"This place is what it is, it doesn't have a name," The bear said just confusing them. "It's where I live."

"You… Live here?" Yosuke asked in surprise with the bear nodding.

"If I was you guys I'd hurry back to the other side, somebody's been throwing people in here," The bear said his ear twitching a bit. "It's a big headache."

"Huh? Throwing people in?" Yosuke caught that part and asked about it. "What are you talking about?"

At that question the bear snarled and stomped his foot on the ground. "I don't know who's doing it! I just want them to stop and think before they go do things like that."

"Hey, what's your problem?" Chie said forcefully, causing the bear to cower in fear once more. "What gives YOU the right to yell at us like that?! What ARE you?! Where are we?! What the heck's going here?!"

Kiyoshi felt some pity for the cowering bear who ran to hide behind him as he seemed to be the only one not yelling at him.

"I already told you, anyways you should hurry back."

"What it comes down to is, you want us to get outta here, right?" Yosuke asked, the bear nodding in response. "Well, so do we! We just don't know how dammit!"

"Urrrrgh!" The bear stomped his foot on the ground again. "That's why I'm saying I'll let you out."

Yosuke however was on a roll. "Like I keep saying we don't know where the frickin' exit-... Huh?" He asked in surprise finally thinking about what the bear said. "Wait, what?"

"You can let us out of here?!" Kiyoshi asked his attention on the bear with him giving a nod before stomping his foot on the floor and a pile of TV's appeared. "The heck?!"

"What the hell?" Yosuke breathed looking at the pile with a wide-eyed look.

Chie was right behind him. "Where did those TV's come from?"

"I take it that's our exit?" Narukami asked with the bear giving a nod before he began to push the four towards them.

"Okay now go, get out of here, I'm a busy bear!"

Kiyoshi had no chance to do a retort when they all went through.

* * *

"Why am I always at the bottom?" Kiyoshi muttered in pain as they crash-landed in the TV aisle, all of them ended up landing on Kiyoshi again.

Luckily the Aisle was completely empty showing that no one saw them exit the TV, which was a miracle in itself.

"Did we… Make it back?" Yosuke asked in surprise all of them getting out of the tangled pile they were in.

" _ **Attention Shoppers. Our Daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain?**_ "

"Crap, it's already that late?" Yosuke asked in surprise.

"Looks like we were in there for quite awhile." chie muttered just happy to be out of there.

"I should go get that backpack while I can." Kiyoshi muttered making a promise to just go straight home and lock himself in his room after this nightmare of a day.

But before he could, Yosuke gasped. "That's right, now I remember where I saw that poster before." He said catching their attention before pointing. "Look over there, that's the poster we saw."

Following his point, Kiyoshi felt himself pale at seeing the same exact poster they saw in the TV world, only with a face on it.

The face of Misuzu Hiiragi, the Singer who was the victim of that scandal.

Kiyoshi stilled.

The dead announcer Mayumi Yamano who was found the other day, with the torn up pictures of Hiiragi inside of a hotel room.

… A hotel room like the Amagi Inn.

Kiyoshi had a funny feeling that they might've stumbled across the freaking murder scene before he shook his head.

Of course they didn't, she was found on the TV antenna, that was just a world inside of a TV.

It couldn't be… Could it?

"Could that room we saw have something to do with the announcers death? I mean there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling." Yosuke asked voicing what Kiyoshi was thinking before he grimaced. "Yaaaargh, nevermind we should stop talking about this, I don't want to think anymore on this."

"I'm feeling a chill too." Chie muttered, shivering.

"Same." Kiyoshi agreed.

* * *

Kiyoshi sighed as he made it back home, a new backpack to hold his school supplies while it began to rain.

Today… Today was just plain crazy.

How did it go from buying a backpack to going inside of a freaking TV?

Kiyoshi wasn't sure what to make of it or if he wanted to continue thinking on it.

That room just creeped him out.

Still at least he wasn't alone in being there, if he did end up in there it was with others-.

Kiyoshi sneezed, sniffling a bit.

Ever since they got out of that TV his body has been feeling heavy and his eyes were drooping.

Not wanting to do anything else, Kiyoshi didn't bother to change out of his school uniform and just laid in bed, letting sleep take him.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Man, this story is on fire, I'm having a lot of fun typing this it's almost like I'm playing the game again only this time with my own character in there. So far it's almost the same as canon as it's only the beginning, eventually things will begin to change with Kiyoshi's involvement so look forward to that.**_


	3. True Self Part 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 03: True Self Part 1**_

 _ **Friday April 15th, 2011**_

Kiyoshi yawned as he walked to school, a light fog in the area.

He was feeling a lot better since the other day now that he managed to get some sleep. Something he really needed after that crazy adventure inside of the TV-.

Sirens cut through the noiseless walk, making Kiyoshi pause wondering what happened now and he had a bad feeling.

' _I should get to school as quickly as possible._ '

With that he hurried.

* * *

School started off like usual until it was in the afternoon when Kiyoshi was surprised to hear the intercom go off for a school assembly and walked into the gym room where he heard someone call his name and looked to see Chie waving with Narukami and Yosuke nearby.

So Kiyoshi hurried towards them. "A-Anyone know w-what's going o-on?" He asked.

Yosuke just blinked. "Dude are you stuttering again?" He asked in surprise as Kiyoshi did talk clearly the other day.

Kiyoshi winced as the shock was fully out of his system so he was normal again.

"Not a clue, I'm a little worried though given what's been going on lately." Chie said looking around for someone else.

"Something wrong?" Narukami asked with Chie sighing.

"Nothing it's just, Yukiko is probably working at the Inn right now, I guess it really did get too busy." Chie sighed before her phone buzzed and she checked it, relief flooding her face. "She'll be here for lunch though."

"That's cool," Yosuke muttered pulling his phone out once more-he's been doing that every few seconds since Kiyoshi joined them. "Come on Senpai."

"?" Kiyoshi looked at Yosuke before realization dawned on him. "Yo-you're waiting f-for Konishi-San to text you?"

Yosuke gave a start before laughing. "Yeah, I managed to score some tickets to a movie that I invited her out to," He explained before looking a little disheartened. "Although she's been blowing my texts off since yesterday."

Narukami stilled a bit remembering his Uncle who was a Police Detective letting him know that Saki Konishi has been reported missing. ' _Hopefully they find her soon._ ' He thought.

Chie however smiled mischievously. "Oh so you finally made your move huh Hanamura?" She asked a bit of a teasing tone showing. "You sure took your time huh?"

"Well Saki-Senpai has been pretty busy lately, I just wanted to wait for the right time." Yosuke said looking away before putting his phone back up after checking it again. "So how long are they going to make us wait?"

"Maybe they'll cancel classes." Narukami said with Yosuke snickering.

"That would be great, then I can head over and get Saki-Senpai's answer."

" _ **Everyone settle down,**_ " Everyone looked up to see Sofue, the lady wearing the Egyptian Headdress. " _ **The school assembly is about to begin. First the Principal has something to say.**_ "

With that she stepped to the side, allowing for an older gentlemen wearing some pretty old, traditional japanese clothing walked up. " _ **I… Regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for you.**_ " He said, pain showing in his tone as he closed his eyes.

"Man must be something big." Yosuke muttered checking his phone once more.

" _ **One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3-B,**_ " That caught Yosuke's attention as he looked at the principal with rapt attention. " _ **Has passed away.**_ "

Just like that, Yosuke went slack in disbelief, his phone slipping from his hand, clattering on the floor while Chie gasped.

Narukami clenched a fist, not expecting that while Kiyoshi blinked in shock.

Konishi-San was dead?

But he just saw her not even two days ago, laughing a bit and smiling.

And Yosuke was just saying he invited her to a movie and now this happened?

People began to mutter around them. "Saki-Senpai is dead?"

"No way, how?"

"Was that what the sirens were about?"

"Two deaths in a week? Think they're related?"

"N-No." Yosuke muttered still in shock, Chie looking at him with concern on her features before he slowly walked away from the crowd.

"Y-Yosuke?!" Chie called out, not using his family name out of concern and went to run after him.

Narukami waited a bit before deciding to follow.

Kiyoshi hesitated, but grabbed Yosuke's phone and ran after them, ignoring the Principal's words about being careful in what they should say should the Police question them.

* * *

"Man Yosuke can sure disappear." Chie muttered a bit out of breath as they couldn't find the guy after the assembly decided to let out, flooding the halls with other students.

"C-Can you b-blame hi-him?" Kiyoshi asked with Chie giving a nod of agreement.

"Her body was found hanging somewhere just like Yamano," A girl whispered, passing by them unintentionally gaining their attention. "This time it was on a telephone pole."

"Grr, it's easy to gossip about it when you're not involved." Chie said anger on her face before Narukami spoke.

"There." They all looked up to see Yosuke standing near the courtyard as rain fell, just watching it with an empty look.

"Hanamura!" Chie ran towards him but the teen didn't say anything, not until the others ran with her.

Eventually Yosuke spoke, his voice cracking in pain. "Did… Did you guys watch the Midnight Channel last night?"

"The Midni-?!" Chie grew frustrated and stomped her foot. "Are you seriously bringing that up now?! What the hell is wrong with you-?!"

"Just hear me out." Yosuke snapped, trying and failing to hold back tears. "I watched it again last night because something didn't seem right and I think the girl was Saki-Senpai."

"So I was right?" Kiyoshi muttered in shock, but Yosuke's head snapped towards him.

"You knew?" He asked before anger showed and he grabbed Kiyoshi by the front of his blazer. "You knew and you didn't say anything?!"

Needless to say, Kiyoshi was about to piss himself.

Thankfully Narukami intervened by placing a hand on Yosuke's shoulder. "Hanamura calm down."

After a second, Yosuke forced his anger down and let go. "Sorry Kiyoshi." He muttered.

Kiyoshi just backed up, putting some distance between him and Yosuke a bit scared to be near him. "I-I-I had a suspicion," He muttered in fear, stuttering more than ever. "B-B-B-But I wasn't s-sure if it was re-really her."

On hearing how scared he was, Yosuke looked a little guilty as his anger did get the best of him but he pushed it away, wanting to get to the point. "Plus inside of that TV we found that weird room and someone said that they saw that Announcer Yamano on the TV before she died the same way as Saki-Senpai."

The implication wasn't lost on Chie who froze. "What are you saying?" She asked unsure if she wanted to know.

"Are you saying that people that are on the Midnight Channel die?" Narukami asked a grim look on his face, Yosuke giving a nod to confirm it.

"That's crazy." Chie snapped not wanting to believe that.

"S-So was y-yesterday." Kiyoshi said looking down, seeing what Yosuke meant.

So they did stumble across the murder scene yesterday-.

And Konishi-San was in the TV the same time as them? If they just found her they could've gotten her out.

"What if Senpai was in that world?" Yosuke asked voicing Kiyoshi's thoughts again. "And that means the answers are there."

"No, out of the question," Chie said now seeing where Yosuke was going with this. "You aren't going back in there Hanamura!"

"Why the hell not?! Senpai died!" Yosuke snapped glaring at her in anger. "I can't just stand here and do nothing."

"And you think going back in there is better?!" Chie snapped right back, about ready to kick him to keep him from going. "If you're right you'll end up getting killed to, we should get the police-?"

"You want me to tell the police about that other world?" Yosuke asked in disbelief, silencing Chie as he did have a point. "I'll probably end up in a Mental Hospital before I can convince them."

Taking a breath, Yosuke calmed himself.

"If I'm wrong about this that's fine but, I have to know." Yosuke muttered the pain showing in his tone, weakening Chie's resolve to stop him before he looked at Narukami. "Please you're the only one who can help me get in there."

Narukami gave a nod, not even hesitating as he wanted answers to.

Kiyoshi however paled as he wanted nothing to do with that world or with the thought of this murderer.

Go ahead, call him a coward but he wanted to just head home and lock the door.

But seeing how Yosuke looked ready to break down and cry despite hiding it made him keep that quiet.

* * *

"You seriously shouldn't do this." Chie repeated halfheartedly as Yosuke had a rope tied around his waist, holding a Golf Club in his hands.

"We already escaped once and if we go in the same way as last time we could find the bear." Yosuke explained his plan and Kiyoshi had to say it seemed like a good plan so far.

Chie however didn't think so. "But you don't know that for sure," She protested to him. "If you're wrong you'll be trapped there."

"That's where this comes in." Yosuke handed her the rope making her get the idea.

"A life line?!"

"Here." Yosuke handed Narukami the Golf Club. "I didn't have much time so I grabbed this, it's for protection just in case."

Narukami gave a nod and gave the Golf Club a test swing-away from the others.

"Kiyoshi-San here," Kiyoshi blinked as Yosuke handed him some medicine and bandages. "I figured you would be the best person to hold onto these."

Kiyoshi froze now seeing that Yosuke thought he was going in there when he was planning on staying with Chie instead.

Not seeing his fear, Yosuke looked at Narukami. "You ready?"

Narukami gave a nod and placed his hand on the TV screen, making it rippled enough for Yosuke to climb in despite Chie's protests.

As he did that, Narukami glanced at Kiyoshi. "You want to stay here?" He offered already seeing how he was afraid.

Kiyoshi hesitated before steeling himself and jumping in after placing the medicine in his backpack. ' _I'm so going to die._ '

After a second, Kiyoshi landed on the ground in pain. "I really need to work on my landing." He muttered pushing himself up, thankful that his glasses didn't fly off this time.

"I know what you mean," Yosuke muttered as he landed on his butt again earlier and a second later Narukami landed nearby, on his feet. "Dude any tips on how to do that."

Narukami just calmly stood up looking around. "We are in the same place." None of them noticed the lifeline falling uselessly near them, the rope being cut upon the opening closing.

"At least that proves my theory right." Yosuke said happy about that but sobering up when he remembered about the reason why they were there. "Come on we should go-."

"You guys." The three turned to see the bear waddling towards them, somehow making the eyes of the costume wide in disbelief. "Why'd you come back?"

Then the disbelief turned to realization followed by anger.

"I get it, you're the ones behind it."

"It's you again," Yosuke sounded happy before realizing something. "Wait, what did you just say?"

The bear turned its back to the three as he waddled off, his paws clasped behind his back. "Lately I can tell that someone's been throwing people in here, making the world more and more messed up, it's beary unsettling," The bear said making Kiyoshi blink as he caught the bear pun right as he turned to face them. "This is the second time you guys came in here and I don't think anyone forced you in, that makes you the most suspicious."

' _He's got a point._ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think, using his fingers to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose in contemplation-a nervous habit he's built up over the years. ' _Wait?_ '

"Throw people in?" Yosuke asked in anger. "Who the hell would do that?! If anyone was thrown in here with no way out they would die-."

"Like the announcer." Kiyoshi spoke with no stutter, fear gripping him again.

"And Konishi-San." Narukami voiced Yosuke catching on.

"Along with the room we found, this place has to be connected to it." Yosuke said. "We just need to find evidence to confirm it."

"What are you three talking about?! Furthermore why did you come back it's a one-way door, I had to let you out remember?" The bear asked, waving his arms in frustration.

Yosuke huffed and proudly held the rope up, showing it was cut to the now paling Kiyoshi while Narukami blinked. "Yeah well we don't need your help this time we have a lifeline-," He stopped talking when he saw that and slowly dropped it. "Er I mean… You better let us out when we're done investigating."

' _So much for not needing his help._ ' Kiyoshi thought with a sigh.

"Grrr, I'm the one who wants to investigate," The bear said giving his best growl at him-although he sounded like a squeak toy. "I've lived in this world for years and it's never been this noisy before. Do you have proof that you're not the ones throwing people in here? Prove it to me."

"It doesn't work that way." Narukami said rubbing the back of his head.

"See so it is you guys." The bear said as if that was good enough.

"For the last time it's not us, we've got nothing to prove to you," Yosuke snapped, his anger rising again as this bear was beginning to annoy him and for a second a yellow tint flickered in his eyes, catching Narukami's attention slightly before he calmed himself. "This isn't like last time where we came by accident, we need answers. People have died in our world whenever it gets foggy and the only lead we have is this strange place, if you know what's going on you have to tell us."

"Died? When the fog appears?" The cogs were turning inside of the bears head as he thought about it. "I know that when the fog appears on your side it lifts here, it gets dangerous when that happens so I have to hide, especially when the Shadows get violent."

"Dangerous?" Kiyoshi asked a bit fearfully. "Exactly how dangerous are we talking?"

Then the bears eyes lit up. "Ah I get it."

"?" The three looked at each other in confusion.

"If you get it then tell us dammit," Yosuke finally said with a frown. "None of what you're saying is making sense and what is this about the shadows getting violent?"

"That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens! Okay, no more questions!" The bear growled. "I know you guys did it! You better stop right now!"

"I've told you and told you, we're not the ones doing it! I've about had it with you...Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying?!"

"I-I'm just saying...you might be the culprits. I'm just making sure..."

"What...?" Yosuke held out his hands. "Man, this bear's driving me nuts...What is this place, anyways? It looks like a TV studio...is something being filmed here?"

Narukami shrugged. "I dunno."

"H-Hey, don't tell me..." Yosuke scowled. "Is that weird show being filmed here?!"

The bear looked questioningly at Yosuke. "Weird show? Filmed? What does that mean?"

"I'm asking if someone's been filming the people that get thrown in here."

"? I don't get it... This world has always been like this. No one has ever done that filming thing here."

"Always been like this?" Narukami cupped his chin in thought.

"Only me and Shadows are here! I told you before!"

"And that's where you lose us." Kiyoshi sighed, being quiet for most of this conversation. "How do shadows get violent?"

"You know what forget it, you keep telling us to prove our innocence but you're the most suspicious thing here," Yosuke said glaring at the bear. "And what's with that stupid costume anyways?"

With that he lunged at the now screaming bear, reaching for the zipper as he squirmed.

"Show us who you really-," Yosuke pulled the head back only to pale as he saw nothing but darkness inside of the suit. "Are?"

He then screamed, dropping the head and backed up rapidly, falling on his butt while Kiyoshi took a step back in fright.

"The hell?!" Kiyoshi shouted not expecting that.

"How does this work?!" Yosuke shouted while Narukami calmly picked the head up and placed it back on the bear's body. "Dude how are you not freaked out by this?! Does anything rattle you?"

"I'm not the culprit," The bear frowned. "I wouldn't do such a thing...I just live here. Look, I'll take your word that you grizzlies didn't do it."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Yosuke was perplexed by the sudden shift in manners the bear was showing.

The bear hopped onto its feet and flailed its arms around. "But in exchange, I want you to find the real culprit, and make him stop doing this! Promise or else I'm not gonna let you guys outta here!"

Yosuke blinked and scowled. "Why you little-!"

Kiyoshi quickly moved and placed a hand on Yosuke's arm. "Hanamura-San please don't antagonize our only way home." He said with Yosuke glaring at the bear before he sighed, taking a step back.

"This can't keep going on," The bear continued tears welling up in his eyes. "My home here will be a complete mess and then I-I'll… Wah."

"Is… Is he crying?" Kiyoshi asked in disbelief.

"Geez, this thing is really weirding me out." Yosuke muttered under his breath.

"What do you want us to do?" Narukami asked wanting to get past this weirdness.

"You guys are the only ones I can ask." The bear admitted looking down.

"Alright." Narukami said surprising everyone.

"Wait for real?!" Yosuke asked not expecting that. "Why?!"

"I feel sorry for him."

The bear acted like he didn't hear that last part and looked overjoyed. "Thank you."

"Damn bear practically holding a gun to our heads." Yosuke muttered in annoyance. "But you have my word to."

The bear smiled and looked at Kiyoshi as he hadn't agreed. "... S-Same."

This bear was their only way out after all.

"Might as well get the introductions out of the way I'm Yosuke Hanamura, this is my buddy Yu Narukami and Hisoka Kiyoshi, you got a name?"

"Teddie."

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Kiyoshi muttered.

Still at least it'll be easy to remember.

"Oh here you guys will need these." Teddie pulled out three pairs of glasses with Kiyoshi blinked as he accepted a pair that were black while Yosuke had an orange one and Narukami held a pair of silver glasses.

"You just happen to have three?" Yosuke asked in disbelief, leaving Teddie to look away.

"I… Have a lot of time on my paws, you would too if you were alone here."

Narukami just placed his on and looked surprised while Kiyoshi spoke. "But I already have glasses-."

"Whoa." Yosuke put his on and looked around. "The fogs gone."

On hearing that, Kiyoshi swapped his glasses out and his eyes widened. "Unreal." He muttered under his breath, pocketing his other glasses.

The fog really was gone due to these glasses, you can see everything around them.

"I know, the difference is like night and day." Yosuke whistled in appreciation. "I have to say, it's nice to be able to see what's in front of us."

"They'll help you walk through the fog," Teddie explained as they began to walk. "I've been here for a long time so you can rely on me to lead you around… But I can only show you around, you guys will have to defend yourselves."

"What happened to relying on you?!" Yosuke snapped in surprise. "Th-There better not be any monsters! You understand?!"

Kiyoshi just looked around, hoping that they wouldn't be attacked while they walked before they found themselves in what looked to be the shopping district of Inaba. "Whoa, how is this here?"

"The Shopping District?" Yosuke whispered looking around. "It's an exact replica-well not the sky but still."

"Some weird places have been appearing recently," Teddie explained to them. "First that bedroom with the posters and then this district, things are getting so tangled I don't know what to do."

"But why did they appear?" Kiyoshi asked right when Yosuke realized something.

"Any reason why you're standing so far from us?" Yosuke asked carefully with Teddie freezing up.

"I, uh just don't want to get too close you know?" Teddie explained with a flushed look at being caught. "I'd get in your way… So I'm performing Moral Support."

"... We're going to die." Kiyoshi deadpanned with Yosuke groaning and placing a hand on his face.

"I swear if he hightails it when something comes up I'll-," Yosuke shook his head clearing it. "Still out of all the places in Inaba that could be replicated why here?"

"Maybe they liked the feel of the place?" Narukami suggested as if he was talking about the weather.

"I still don't get how you're so damn calm." Yosuke deadpanned but was relieved about it, it kept him from going crazy. "Hey Teddie you have an answer for this place?"

"How should I know, it's the reality for the ones who are here." Teddie answered with a shrug, his ears twitching.

"As usual, nothing you say makes any sense." Yosuke muttered with a sigh. "But if this is our Shopping District, that means that Saki-Senpai doesn't live far from here."

As Yosuke ran off with Narukami behind him, Kiyoshi spoke up, getting Teddie's attention as his curiosity was definitely getting the better of him in here. "You said this was reality for others here, did you mean something like how whoever was here saw it?" He asked curiously.

"That's it." Teddie said happy that someone got it. "You're one smart grizzly."

Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his head at that. "R-Right, so that means that since Konishi-San lived nearby that this is her reality." He muttered before realizing that Teddie ran after the others while he was talking. "H-Hey w-wait!"

With that he ran after them.

"I knew it, this is Saki-Senpai's family store." Yosuke said reaching it, the doorway being the same as the hotel room with it swirling. "This has to be it."

He went to walk in but Teddie began to quiver. "Oh no they're coming." He said catching their attention.

"Coming?" Narukami asked looking serious as he tightened his grip on the Golf Club. "What's coming?"

"T-The Shadows." Teddie exclaimed right as they heard a wet splat.

Slowly the four turned to see a black slime with a blue mask on the floor with another one appearing on the door into Konishi Liquor before landing next to the first one with the same wet splat.

Soon the two rose up and began to slither towards them with Yosuke and Kiyoshi freaking out while Narukami took a step back.

"The hell are those?!" Yosuke asked in panic with the two dark beings taking to the air as they became round and changed color to pink with black stripes, turning to show a large mouth with human-like teeth and a long tongue.

"S-Stay away." Kiyoshi backed up, tripping and landing on his butt right as the two creatures shot at them but Narukami slammed the Golf Club in its face, sending it spinning.

"Run." He said the Golf Club looking a little bent from the action.

"To Where?!" Kiyoshi cried out as they couldn't exactly leave, especially since Teddie was trying to hide behind a light pole with the same effectiveness that an elephant would have hiding behind a small car.

He was making a valiant effort though.

Yosuke didn't have a chance to say anything when the other creature managed to get by Narukami and lick across his face. 'Ugh ew this is messed up!" He gagged in disgust, wincing. "Ack damnit why does that hurt?!"

Narukami swung the Golf Club again and this time it broke making him curse.

"Oh man this isn't good, we're done for." Teddie panicked.

"This is insane." Yosuke said not expecting any of this.

' _I-I'm going to die?_ ' Kiyoshi thought his heart pounding. ' _No I don't want to die._ '

Narukami then winced and placed a hand on his head in pain, a voice going through it. ' _ **I am thou, thou art I… The time has come. Open thine eyes and call forth what is within.**_ '

Shaking his head, Narukami brought his hand down to show a blue tarot card and he smiled as it engulfed into flames, the sheer heat of it blasted the two shadows back while getting the attention of the others.

"What the?" Yosuke asked not sure what to make of this as Narukami slowly raised his hand and spoke in a whisper.

"Per...So...Na." He then closed his fist with the card in flames shattering right as energy exploded from him with a yell, kicking dust everywhere.

Kiyoshi held onto his glasses before they could go flying off while Teddie was knocked on his back and Yosuke stared in awe as a giant figure landed right behind Narukami.

The figure wore a long, black coat and a white, metal helmet that obscured his face. He was a tall, intimidating figure armed with a long, metal naginata that was currently sheathed, gold eyes glaring down at the foes before it disappeared the Golf Club looked repaired to much to everyone's surprise.

"What was that?" Yosuke asked in disbelief. "Wait did it just leave us?!"

Teddie however saw that as an opportunity and spoke out. "Stay calm and listen, some Shadows have weaknesses, if you can pinpoint a weakness this battle will be a lot easier."

Narukami gave a nod, looking a bit more confident as he held the Golf Club in his left hand and used his right hand to fix his glasses with a glare. "You're mine." He said getting ready for a fight holding his hand out as the card appeared. "Izanagi!"

The figure appeared again and shot lightning at one of the creatures knocking it down pretty roughly.

"Electricity is its weakness!" Teddie shouted.

"... Did our lives just become a Manga?" Kiyoshi asked dumbfounded by this, not sure how much more he can take.

Yosuke didn't say anything, just staring at what was happening while Narukami slammed his Golf Club into the second Shadow, this time making it disappear at the same time as this tall figure 'Izanagi' sliced through the dazed one with its naginata.

Seeing they were defeated, Narukami slowly turned to Izanagi and nodded his head, a gesture that was returned right as the being disappeared in a blue light again.

His mind finally comprehending what he just saw, Yosuke ran forward. "Whoa, wh-what was that?!" Yosuke ran over to Yu's side. "Did I hear you say, 'Persona'? What was it—I mean, what did you do?!" Yosuke seemed rather excited by what he just saw. "Hey, you think I can do it too?"

Narukami shrugged looking a little tired as he wasn't sure what he just did either.

"Calm down, Yosuke!" Teddie walked over to them. "You're troubling Sensei!"

"S-Sensei...?" Yosuke repeated, a bewildered look on his face.

Teddie ignored Yosuke and turned to Narukami with his eyes sparkling. "Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!"

"This is… I don't know what's going on." Kiyoshi muttered as even when he didn't interact with people he got by with nothing but logic-logic that he cast aside for curiosity the other day but now it was getting ridiculous.

Just what was Narukami? What was this world?!

What the hell was going on?!

"Sensei?" Yosuke asked only paying attention to that, but Teddie was continuing to speak.

"Hey Sensei, are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?" Teddie asked, looking questioningly at Narukami who gave a nod. "That's what I thought, this is amazing right Yosuke and Hisoka?"

"Dude, you call him Sensei and don't show us any respect?" Yosuke asked in disbelief.

Teddie looked down not understanding why he was angry as he didn't know much about honorifics. "Sorry." He said in a saddened tone.

Seeing that, Yosuke felt some guilt. "W-Well your support wasn't bad, I've got to give you credit for that." He said making Teddie's face light up.

"Better than I thought it would be." Kiyoshi said with Yosuke smiling with one eye closed.

"Alright you guys keep that up and we'll finish this investigation with no problem."

Kiyoshi stared at Yosuke in surprise. "Are you out of your damn mind?!" He finally exploded making Yosuke jump, not expecting that at all. "We nearly died, we should be getting the hell out of here!"

None of them noticed Kiyoshi's eyes flashing yellow just like Yosuke's did earlier.

"Damn Kiyoshi-San, for a quiet guy you can be pretty loud." Yosuke was rubbing his ear in pain before pausing. "Wait do you guys hear that?"

"I think everyone heard that." Narukami said, his stoic manner back while Kiyoshi was quiet again a little embarrassed by that outburst.

"No, just listen." Yosuke said making them pause and eventually they could hear other voices.

" _ **I wish Junes would go under.**_ "

" _ **It's all because of that store.**_ "

Yosuke stepped back, nearly choking out in shock, "Wh-What the...?"

"The hell?" Kiyoshi agreed, wondering who was saying all this.

" _ **Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there.**_ "

" _ **Oh my... How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is?**_ "

" _ **I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes.**_ "

"S-Stop it." Yosuke clenched his fists, almost in pain, hating to hear that as he didn't want to hear another word.

" _ **That poor father...to have his own daughter working for the enemy.**_ "

" _ **What a troublesome child.**_ "

Yosuke straightened up and turned to Teddie. "Hey...Hey, Ted!"

Teddie turned to Yosuke, his ears twitching as he wondered what the boy wanted to say.

"You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right?" Yosuke had a hard time speaking. "So...Does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here?"

Teddie made a face. "I...Only know about what's over here."

Yosuke clenched his teeth and turned to the vortex-like entrance. "Fine...Whatever's going on here...we'll find out ourselves!"

* * *

The interior of the liquor was dark with various stacks of alcohol reaching the ceiling. Shelves were lined with bottles varying in type of alcohol and brand, the bottles glowed with a single light shining over them. And much like outside, there were voices inside as well, but this time it was just one voice and it was male.

" _ **Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?!**_ " Kiyoshi gave a yelp at hearing that and flinched violently, something that caught Teddie's attention before Yosuke spoke.

"I-Is this...Senpai's dad?" Yosuke murmured, recognizing the voice.

" _ **You know what the neighbors say about you, right?! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!**_ "

Yosuke sighed heavily. "I...I can't believe this...She seemed like she had fun at work... She never said anything like this to me...You're telling me _**THIS**_ was how Senpai really saw things?!"

Kiyoshi however wasn't listening as he saw all of the alcohol and began to slowly hyperventilate.

"Hisoka?" Teddie asked looking a little worried right when Yosuke ran forward, something else catching his eye.

"T-This Picture." Yosuke said as it showed him with Saki and various other workers. "We took this with the other part-timers at Junes, why is it torn up?"

Narukami however saw something on the ground and picked it up, it was a torn movie ticket but he was able to make out the movie name. "Runaway Hearts?"

That caught Yosuke's attention. "That was the movie I invited her to, it's torn up?"

"Guys something's wrong with Hisoka." Teddie said catching their attention as the usually quiet teen was on his knees shaking.

"Kiyoshi-San?" Yosuke went to move towards him when another voice spoke up.

" _ **I… Never had the chance to say.**_ "

"Saki-Senpai?" Yosuke looked around at hearing her voice.

" _ **I always wanted to tell Hana-chan.**_ "

Yosuke blinked owlishly. "Huh? Me?"

" _ **...that he was a real pain in the ass.**_ "

Yosuke's arms went slack and the picture in his possession fell onto the floor. "Wha...?" He asked not expecting that.

" _ **I was nice to him just because he was the manager's son, that's all... But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic...What a dip.**_ "

"P-Pain in the ass...?" Narukami nearly cringed upon hearing the hurt tone in Yosuke's voice.

" _ **Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back... I just wish everything would just disappear.**_ "

"I-It's a lie..." Yosuke said in disbelief, his voice almost cracking. "This can't be...Senpai's not like that...!"

Everything Yosuke thought he knew about Saki was just shattered within the past few moments.

" _ **It's so sad...**_ " a distorted voice sniffed almost cynically. " _ **I feel so sorry for myself... Boo hoo.**_ "

Narukami, Yosuke, Teddie and Kiyoshi the latter forcing himself to calm down when he heard that unexpected voice slowly turned at the sound of footsteps before another being walked out of the shadows showing itself to be another Yosuke with golden yellow eyes and covered in shadows.

" _ **Actually I'm the one who thinks everything is a pain in the ass.**_ " The other Yosuke said with a twisted smile, giving a demented laugh to add to the effect his voice being warped with each bout of laughter.

"T-Two Yosuke's?" Teddie asked not sure what to expect here.

"What? Who are you?" Yosuke asked looking at him in fear. "I wouldn't think that."

" _ **Hahaha, yeah right how long are you going to keep deluding yourself?**_ " The other Yosuke asked in a mocking tone, the distortions in his voice becoming a bit more noticeable. " _ **Screw the shopping district and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks.**_ "

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Yosuke's face. "What're you saying? That's not true, I-."

The other "Yosuke" cut Yosuke off. " _ **You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation.**_ "

Yosuke scowled. "Shut up!"

" _ **And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping.**_ "

Yosuke was starting to lose it. "S-Stop it!"

" _ **Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe...I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that...? Because I AM you!**_ "

"What's going on?" Kiyoshi muttered not sure what to make of this.

" _ **You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do in this shithole? A world inside the TV-now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you?!**_ "

"That's not true...Stop...Stop it." Yosuke's voice nearly cracked as he tried to deny this.

" _ **You're just trying to act like a big shot... If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!**_ "

"That's not true!" Yosuke snapped, the matter of Saki being brought up just pissing him off. "What are you?! Who are you?!"

The other "Yosuke" chuckled darkly. "I already told ya. I'm you...Your Shadow...There's nothing I don't know about you!"

"Screw that! I don't know you!" Yosuke clenched his teeth. "You can't be me, you son of a bitch!"

Silence followed that right as the other Yosuke let out a maniacal laugh. "T _ **hat's right say it again.**_ "

"You're not me," Yosuke repeated, tears streaming down his face. "You're nothing like me."

" _ **Hmph.**_ " Yosuke's Shadow smirked. " _ **Yeah, that's right...I am ME now. I'm not you anymore, see?**_ "

Yosuke stared at his Shadow, horrified when he noticed the dark aura emanating from the Shadow beginning to grow much darker. The aura soon engulfed him as blinding beams of light spewed dark waves of energy. Once the light waned, in the place of Yosuke's Shadow was a gigantic frog-like beast with a black body sticking out from its torso. The frog-like portion had a wide, V-shaped grin, green camouflage skin, and two glaring red eyes. The black figure sticking out from its back wore yellow gloves over its huge hands, had star-like eyes, and wore a red scarf around its neck.

" _ **I am a shadow...the true self.**_ " Shadow Yosuke's warped voice was threatening. " _ **I'll crush everything that bores me...starting with you!**_ "

A gloved, yellow hand shot out towards Yosuke, who was paralyzed with fear. On instinct, Narukami leaped out and tackled Yosuke out of the way, though just barely before holding his hand out.

"Persona!"

Izanagi appeared in front of Narukami and Yosuke, his weapon poised for battle. Shadow Yosuke scoffed at Izanagi and used his weight to cause a rather sharp shock wave.

" _ **Wind of Oblivion!**_ " Shadow Yosuke exclaimed.

The blast knocked Izanagi off his feet the damage affecting Narukami but the blast also hit Kiyoshi and knocked him through the portal, kicking him out of the room of the fight where he rolled on the street.

"Ow." He muttered hearing the noise of the fight and went to get up, hissing in pain as his arm hurt.

Looking down he saw that he dislocated it from the impact-.

The voices began to speak around him.

" _ **What a weirdo.**_ "

" _ **He always stutters, he's so annoying.**_ "

"No." Kiyoshi muttered, recognizing those voices.

" _ **Who is he again?**_ "

That one really stung.

"Shut up." Kiyoshi grabbed his head, ignoring the dislocated arm.

" _ **Oh don't bother with him, he's a nobody.**_ "

"I'm not." Kiyoshi muttered not wanting to hear this.

" _ **Oh you are, you just haven't accepted it yet.**_ " Kiyoshi froze.

That was… His voice?

Slowly he turned around to see just like with Yosuke another version of him just standing there, a twisted grin on his face.

" _ **Hello… Me.**_ " The other Kiyoshi said, his smile getting bigger at seeing the real Kiyoshi shaking. " _ **Aw did I scare you? Then again it's not that hard to scare a useless little shit like you am I right?**_ "

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Sorry-not sorry I felt this was the perfect place for a cliffhanger, I originally was going to have Kiyoshi face his shadow after Yukiko but I figured this would be better to do. I'm not really going to show the battle with Yosuke's shadow because it would've been just like Canon, so you'll see the one against Kiyoshi's shadow in the next chapter along with some of his inner demons.**_

 _ **So please review if you liked it and I'll get back to you soon.**_


	4. True Self Part 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 04: True Self Part 2**_

 _ **Friday April 15th, 2011 (After School)**_

"Dammit, it hurts to face yourself." Yosuke muttered as the other Yosuke was laying face down on the ground, it's form distorting like static from a TV with Narukami and Teddie nearby, the former looking a bit beat from the fight.

Yosuke wanted nothing more than to deny this as he didn't want anyone to know this part of him.

The part that he kept locked away.

Seeing the encouraging look that Narukami sent him-reminding Yosuke that the guy stayed and fought instead of running away like most people helped him though giving him the courage to walk towards his 'Shadow as it raised its head to look at him a mixture of pain and loathing in its eyes.

"I knew it wasn't lying… But I was just so ashamed I didn't want to admit it," Yosuke began seeing the loathing go away as surprise and relief flood the Shadow's face. "You're me… And I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me."

As he said that, the Shadow smiled peacefully before a blinding white light flooded their vision and in the Shadow's place a being floated, giving off the same feeling as Izanagi did.

The figure seemed to be dressed in a white disco outfit with a long red scarf around its neck giving off a ninja vibe before it became a blue card and floated above Yosuke making him glow.

To Yosuke it felt like a great weight was lifted from his shoulders before he fell down to his knees. "Jiraiya," Yosuke muttered the name popping into his head. "This is my Persona."

"Are you alright?" Narukami asked referring both to his exhaustion and at what happened.

"I don't know, when I heard Senpai's voice-I wonder if that's something that Senpai has been keeping deep down inside," Yosuke muttered, giving a mirthless chuckle. "Haha, 'he was a real pain in the ass huh?' What a way to find out."

Teddie went to say something only to freeze. "Guys there's another Shadow nearby." He said making both boys tense as they finally realized someone was missing.

"Where's Kiyoshi?" Narukami asked looking around before they heard a shout.

"Shut up."

"Who is he-?" Yosuke paled, struck by realization. "Oh no."

They all ran out of the Liquor store to see that Kiyoshi was indeed talking to his Shadow.

" _ **Aw why so defensive? Everyone knows how much of a coward you are,**_ " The other Kiyoshi mocked him. " _ **It's not like it will make a difference for the guys behind you to know it.**_ "

On hearing that, Kiyoshi paused and turned, his eyes widening at seeing the others. "No." He muttered not wanting them to see this.

His fear however made the other Kiyoshi smirk as it felt a surge of power. " _ **Aw you trying to hide it from them? Don't you know it's useless?**_ " The Shadow mocked, his grin getting bigger. " _ **Oh and speaking of useless man you hit the top of being that.**_ "

"This is bad, what do we do?" Yosuke asked nervously as he didn't know how to use his Persona that well and he could tell that Narukami was tired from fighting his Shadow a few moments ago.

"We have to help Kiyoshi." Narukami said the two running towards them, Teddie running after them.

" _ **After all everyone here has their use but you, even the bear is more useful than you and he can't fight worth shit,**_ " The Shadow laughed at the despair on Kiyoshi's face-trying to get him to slip up as the two Persona-Users got closer. " _ **Then again it's not as pathetic as why you forced yourself to come in here now is it?**_ "

"Don't." Kiyoshi muttered falling to his knees. "Please."

" _ **You only came here because you're terrified of being abandoned, after all everyone else abandoned you,**_ " The Shadow said that revelation making the two boys stop in surprise as they got in front of Kiyoshi. " _ **Your mother abandoned you, your father can't stand you and everyone you tried to befriend just forgets you even exist, can't exactly blame them now can you?**_ "

"Shut up." Kiyoshi slammed a fist on his good arm on the pavement, ignoring the pain he felt from it as he glared at his shadow. "T-That's not true."

" _ **Oh is it? You can't hide anything from me,**_ " The shadow grinned sinisterly. " _ **After all I am you.**_ "

"No." Kiyoshi stood up, nothing but anger in his eyes.

Seeing what he was about to do, Yosuke called out. "Don't say it."

But it fell on deaf ears as Kiyoshi shouted. "You're not me, you'll never be me!"

It got silent as Kiyoshi panted from shouting that before he realized what he did, Yosuke's shadow coming to mind.

He was just so angry that he didn't-.

The Shadow laughed with dark reddish energy forming around him. " _ **That's right you pathetic coward, I'm me now,**_ " He said the energy building up. " _ **I don't need you any longer.**_ "

With that the energy exploded, knocking everyone off their feet as a giant figure took place of the shadow.

The figure was revealed to be a large red scaled figure with torn bat-like wings coming from the back and with broken chains on his legs and wrists, its yellow eyes looking down at Kiyoshi with nothing but contempt as it opened its hands to show black razor sharp claws.

" _ **I am a Shadow… The true self,**_ " The other Kiyoshi taunted with a laugh hi voice full of distortions now, barely recognizable. " _ **Once you're dead no one will abandon me again.**_ "

With that it flew right at Kiyoshi who froze in fear, but Narukami was already on the move. "Izanagi!" He shouted his Persona appearing.

Seeing that, Yosuke focused with his Tarot Card appearing and spun around, punching it. "Let's do this Jiraiya!"

Both Persona's intercepted the other Kiyoshi and forced him back with Narukami quickly looking at Teddie. "Get him out of here."

"On it Sensei," Teddie said tugging on the shell shocked Kiyoshi. "Come on Hisoka."

" _ **Look at you, can't even take care of yourself,**_ " The Shadow snarled in annoyance at being stopped. " _ **Pathetic.**_ "

He then smirked at his power growing, knowing his words were having an effect on Kiyoshi before hissing as a combination of lightning and wind hit him.

"Ah no good he's not weak to either of those!" Teddie said in a panic before seeing something nearby and he grabbed them.

"Are you kidding me?!" Yosuke asked in disbelief while Narukami held his Golf Club. "Oh man I really need a weapon."

"Yosuke catch!" Teddie called out with Yosuke turning only for two wrenches to hit his head, leaving a pretty big bump with the brunette now seeing stars.

"Ow, what the hell Ted?!" Yosuke asked rubbing his head, Jiraiya doing the same leaving the Persona unprepared for the Shadow to slice him with the claw, Yosuke crying out in pain as it affected him too.

"Careful, if your Persona's get hurt you'll feel their pain same if you get hit your Persona will feel it!" Teddie warned showing that they needed to be careful. "Yosuke use those wrenches, they were by the store."

"Better than nothing." Yosuke muttered picking up the wrenches to dual wield, but wishing Teddie didn't throw them at his head.

"Zio!" Narukami called out with more lightning hitting the Shadow.

Even if it wasn't weak to the elemental attacks it was going to do much more than a Golf Club and Wrench would.

" _ **Why are you interfering?! He's nothing but a spineless coward,**_ " The Shadow snarled dodging a sword strike from Izanagi when Jiraiya spun around kicking him back. " _ **Not worth what you're doing!**_ "

"No good, he's getting stronger." Yosuke said in worry, seeing how this Shadow was pushing back against them. "Narukami we need to do something."

"Hisoka you need to accept it." Teddie tried to say but Kiyoshi snapped.

"I don't need to do shit, that's not me!" Kiyoshi said his voice quivering.

" _ **That's right, I'm nothing like that weakling.**_ " The Shadow remarked landing on the rooftops of the Shopping District as images appeared in the sky showing other people who began to talk.

" _ **He's so annoying.**_ "

" _ **Dude just forget him, he's nobody.**_ "

Yosuke stared as he went through this not even five minutes ago and knew that Kiyoshi must be feeling like crap right now and his eyes narrowed in anger. "Garu!" He shouted wind blasting against the Shadow, injuring him some more.

They had to end this now.

But the Shadow laughed as the misery that Kiyoshi was feeling gave him even more power, something that Teddie saw.

"He's about to attack, defend yourselves!"

They didn't have the chance as dark energy gathered in the Shadow's hands. " _ **Eiha!**_ " He said blasting it at the two, making both Narukami and Yosuke cry out in agony as the curse attack sent their Persona's flying right through the Shopping District buildings.

Kiyoshi had his back pressed up against the building his legs up to his chest as he held his head, shaking. "No, no, no." He muttered with Teddie freaking out as the Shadow moved in front of them.

" _ **Look at you, so pathetic that you just helped injured two people that were trying to help,**_ " The Shadow mocked raising his hand as Teddie got in front of Kiyoshi and he lightly batted the bear away. " _ **You can't do anything and when you try others get hurt so why bother?**_ "

With that he went to make the killing blow as Kiyoshi closed his eyes only for a clanging sound to make them open as Izanagi was right in front of him using the Naginata to hold off the claws, Narukami landing right next to Kiyoshi looking a little injured with his school uniform all torn up.

" _ **Get out of the way, he's worthless.**_ " The Shadow snarled hating the interference.

Narukami didn't say anything before Yosuke shouted out. "Jiraiya!"

The sneak attack caught the Shadow off guard as he hit the side of the building looking winded, giving Narukami the chance he's been waiting for.

"Izanagi!" Narukami roared, with the Persona holding its hand out, lightning blasting out knocking the shadow to the ground as it changed back to normal, the anger and contempt gone.

Only loneliness remained.

"Phew, that was pretty tough." Yosuke panted, his Persona disappearing as he was exhausted and he knew Narukami must be dead on his feet.

"I-..." Kiyoshi looked down, seeing how injured they were. "Sorry."

"You apologize too much." Narukami deadpanned with a small smile, holding a hand out to help Kiyoshi up, noticing the dislocated arm that he was trying to hide in the process.

Before he could say something about that, the Shadow moved making Kiyoshi look at it in fear. "Hisoka that Shadow is a part of you." Teddie voiced, waddling back from being knocked aside. "Like Yosuke you have to accept it."

"A-Accept it?" Kiyoshi asked, this time the shadow stood up and looked at him with a blank expression. "I-... I don't know if I can."

How could he accept something like that?

"Hey I was like that a bit ago," Yosuke said giving a friendly smile. "It's tough to face yourself, but it's something you have to do."

"You're still yourself even if that's a part of you," Narukami explained to Kiyoshi. "It's not all of you."

"Still myself?" Kiyoshi muttered before he turned to his shadow and took a deep breath, walking towards it. "Yeah… You're r-right I'm a coward. T-Too scared to talk to p-people in fear of abandonment, to scared to look myself in the mirror because of how pathetic I was. Yet in the end all I was doing was hurting myself."

He tripped over his words in the beginning but as he kept talking he felt more confidence with what he was saying before he stopped in front of his Shadow.

With that he used his uninjured arm to place a hand on his shadow's shoulder.

"I was hurting you and I kept doing that by denying you," Kiyoshi said softly, seeing the Shadow give a smile-a pleasant one instead of the sinister one. "You're me and I'm you… I'm not going to deny you anymore."

The Shadow closed its eyes as it began to glow making Kiyoshi back up.

When the glow died down, another being took its place. It was a muscular red and black creature that seemed to resemble the devil with horns and claws, with huge bat-like wings and a long tail using its wings to hover there.

As Kiyoshi stared the creature became a card and floated above him with the name going through his head.

"Diaborosu," Kiyoshi said, exhaustion taking form as he fell on his butt, exhausted from the awakening. "M-My Persona."

"It's something isn't it?" Yosuke asked with a relieved smile that they were all okay, looking back at Narukami. "You alright?"

"I'm good." Narukami said hiding his exhaustion pretty well.

"That's good, thanks Narukami I don't know what would've happened if you weren't here." Yosuke said looking at him.

Narukami just calmly placed his hands on his pocket with a barely noticeable smile.

Yosuke then looked at Teddie. "Hey Teddie… Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here?" He asked a bit hesitantly, unsure if he wanted to know or not.

"I think so. The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk," The Bear explained patiently to the tired teens. "And you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it and the big mass of Shadows kills the host."

"Damn." Kiyoshi muttered shocked to hear that.

"So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world," Yosuke grimaced. "And if Narukami wasn't here then Kiyoshi and I would've-..."

"We would've ended up the next victims." Kiyoshi finished imagining what he would've ended up on and decided he should just stop thinking about it.

"You guys are pretty worn out." Teddie frowned. "This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here. I don't hear any more voices. I think we're done with this place. Let's go back."

* * *

Eventually the four of them were back at the TV studio stage looking place, Kiyoshi rubbing his aching shoulder as they put his arm back in the socket and he was pretty sure if they weren't inside of a TV all of Inaba would've heard his scream of pain from doing that.

He still had no idea how they were going to just walk out of Junes with how messed up their clothes were but he figured they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

"Hey Teddie, you said this place was reality for those who enter right?" Yosuke spoke up before the bear could make their exit. "So that Shopping District and the weird room we saw before, did they exist before the ones who died entered this world and it became their reality?"

"Are you asking if they formed because of the people who entered?" Kiyoshi asked with Yosuke nodding.

"I don't know, it's never happened before," Teddie said looking saddened by not being able to give a solid answer. "But that's probably where when the Shadows attacked them."

"So this world killed them." Narukami said with Kiyoshi swallowing nervously.

"The fog does lift here sometimes and that's when the Shadows get extremely violent and that usually means I have to go hide," Teddie explained to them. "I sensed two people here but they disappeared after the fog lifted."

"So let's get this straight," Yosuke looked like someone slapped him. "Senpai and that Yamano lady were thrown in here and since they couldn't get out they wandered around. Then eventually their Shadows came out of them and when the fog lifted they went beserk?"

"Yes." Teddie said giving a nod.

"Which leads to their bodies being found on a foggy morning." Kiyoshi said crossing his arms thinking that they were finally learning on how this bizarre world seemed to work.

"Yeah both of you were lucky Sensei was here." Teddie said happy that they were alive.

"Dammit, Senpai and that Announcer, no one was here for them," Yosuke said getting that. "They were all alone."

"That seems to be the case." Kiyoshi said nervously messing with his glasses.

"They disappeared when the fog lifted, but they were safe before then, no Shadows attacked them." Teddie explained making the three look at him in surprise.

"But they attacked us." Narukami reminded the bear making him ponder before snapping his fingers.

"Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us, they might see people who investigate here as enemies." Teddie said making the three nod as that actually made a little sense. "It might be dangerous but we might be able to fight them if anyone else gets thrown in here."

Now that got their attention.

"Are you saying that if anyone else gets thrown in here we might be able to save them like you did with me and Kiyoshi-San?" Yosuke asked in surprise.

"If we can that would be a stroke of luck." Kiyoshi said finding that to be useful information and with the three of them having their Persona's then they stand a much greater chance at doing this.

"We won't know unless we try." Narukami voiced with Yosuke agreeing.

"Yeah but we'll also have to catch the one doing this and get them to stop." Yosuke had a look of determination in his eyes.

"So three high school teenagers against a Serial Killer who's using a world inside of a TV to commit crimes," Kiyoshi said finding it odd to say that. "This is both weird and scary."

"Of course it's weird when said like that but who else can stop this guy?" Yosuke asked, Kiyoshi giving him that one.

Teddie watched them curiously before deciding to ask something that's been on his mind for quite some time. "Hey, can I ask something too?" He figured it would be better if they were interested in his question before asking.

The three looked at him in surprise, Narukami giving a nod to let him know it was alright.

"If Shadows are born from Humans, what was Teddie born from?"

"Dude," Yosuke looked pretty surprised. "You don't even know where you came from? How should we know?"

"We rarely figured anything about this strange world so the chances of us knowing are pretty slim." Kiyoshi said with an apologetic look.

Teddie sighed a bit let down but he expected it. "I know some things. Mostly about this world," He explained to the teens. "But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now."

"Really?" Kiyoshi asked not expecting that.

Yosuke sighed. "No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you."

"... Will you guys come back here?" Teddie asked hesitantly.

Narukami smiled. "We made a promise," He said to the now surprised bear. "Of course we'll come back."

"You'll keep your word?"

"Well, you're the one who said you wouldn't let us out until we do." Yosuke reminded him with one eye closed as he grinned to show he wasn't holding it against Teddie.

The bear now looked a little embarrassed. "Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But there's one thing, I'll be waiting for you guys here," He said to them. "You need to come in through the same place every time so we can meet up."

"So what you're saying is that if we came in a different TV we wouldn't end up here." Kiyoshi theorized with Teddie giving an exuberant nod.

"Right again Hisoka."

Kiyoshi found it a bit weird that Teddie was already calling him and Hanamura by their given names instead of family names as that's usually reserved to close friends, especially without honorifics but chalked it up to the bear not knowing about any of that.

"Huh interesting." Narukami muttered at learning that.

"Right well can you show us the way out?" Yosuke asked wanting to get out of there before anything else happens.

Teddie gave a nod and tapped his foot on the ground making the exit appear.

"Cool, first we need to make sure there aren't any employees out there, last thing we need is for someone to randomly see us come out of the TV." Yosuke said looking in.

"Why don't we buy the TV then?" Kiyoshi asked as it would be bad if someone else bought this TV before they could solve the case.

"We'll need a lot of Yen to do tha-." Narukami went to say but Teddie pushed them in.

"Hey you stupid bear don't-!" Yosuke tried to say but it fell to deaf ears as they all went through the screens, landing in the familiar aisle of Junes where Chie was on her knees, looking a bit tear stricken while holding the rope but she looked up seeing the three in a dog pile with a relieved expression.

"Dammit why am I always on the bottom?!" Kiyoshi shouted in annoyance at being squished again before they got off of him.

"Ah! Y-You came baaack!"

"Chie? What's with that face?" Yosuke asked tactlessly and like that Chie's eyes narrowed in anger.

Standing up she slapped Yosuke with the rope that was rolled up sending him to the floor with a pained cry. "The nerve of you guys! You are such morons," She said sounding like she was trying not to cry. "I can't believe this! You guys suck!"

Kiyoshi found it a bit odd at how Chie was being while he stood up a bit carefully, afraid that he might be hit too.

"The rope got cut off and I had no idea what to do," Chie wiped her eyes with one of her sleeves. "I was worried, I mean scared stiff dammit, I hate all of you!"

She ran off after that tirade while Yosuke pushed himself back up holding his cheek in pain.

"I… I think that might've kinda sorta been our fault." Yosuke muttered.

Kiyoshi snorted. "No shit." He remarked earning a surprised look from the two.

Even he was a bit surprised at himself but maybe… It was because these guys saw his Shadow that he felt he could relax around them a bit.

"Let's apologize to her tomorrow-." Yosuke went to say only to blink. "Wait our clothes."

Looking down, both Narukami and Kiyoshi looked shocked to see their clothes repaired and their bruises from earlier gone.

"We're healed?" Narukami muttered.

"Interesting, you think it has something to do with our Personas?" Kiyoshi asked as when they exited the TV last time they didn't exactly healed.

They were still tired so it obviously didn't take care of that.

"That's pretty sweet and useful." Yosuke said as he didn't want to be stared at while they left Junes with torn and damaged clothing.

Kiyoshi gave a nod and yawned. "We should probably head home and get some sleep." He muttered.

"Y-Yeah." Yosuke said looking a bit troubled, reminding Kiyoshi that Yosuke might not sleep that well considering Saki did just die.

"See you two tomorrow." Narukami said and that was when Kiyoshi noticed how Narukami walked off.

The transfer student was extremely tired.

Not hard to believe given not only did he just get this new power but he fought both Yosuke's shadow and Kiyoshi's.

It would've been more surprising if Narukami wasn't tired, heck Kiyoshi was tired from just accepting his Shadow.

' _Speaking of which how come Narukami's Shadow didn't appear?_ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think as Yosuke left giving a wave to the reserved teen.

Kiyoshi would've thought about that some more but he yawned having to remind himself that he needed to rest.

* * *

Back in his room, Kiyoshi sighed as he sat down.

Today… Was just weird and scary.

The fact that he almost died was now starting to sink in.

But he felt as if a huge weight was taken off of him, especially with him accepting his Shadow, he was always content with ignoring his issues, but today he was forced to face them along with Yosuke.

And Kiyoshi felt happy about it. Tired but happy.

Looking at his TV, Kiyoshi pondered something and walked towards it, turning it on to see the News still talking about the Dead body this time talking about Saki as she was found this morning.

While it was annoying he now realized how useful this was considering he was now helping investigate this case.

"I'm investigating a Supernatural Serial Murder Case," Kiyoshi gave a chuckle as he shook his head. "This is bizarre."

Looking down as the News continued, Kiyoshi remembered his Persona and closed his eyes.

"Diaborosu." He whispered and for a brief second felt something in the back of his mind before it was gone.

" _ **-In other words she's a Manager that's still in High School now that has a nice ring to it,**_ " Kiyoshi's head snapped up in confusion wondering what he missed when he saw Yukiko on the News, wearing a pink kimono. " _ **Let's see if I can interview her, excuse me!**_ "

" _ **Hm?**_ " Yukiko turned and froze a bit at the cameras looking a bit flustered and disturbed. " _ **Um… Are you speaking to me?**_ "

Kiyoshi couldn't help but have a bad feeling at this.

Especially since he recognized the reporter as the man who interviewed Saki right before her death-.

' _Wait didn't this guy also interview that Yamano lady?_ ' Kiyoshi thought with narrowed eyes.

Maybe the reporter was the killer?

… Then again he could be overthinking it.

" _ **We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true you're still in high school?**_ "

" _ **Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily.**_ "

"Huh so that's why she's been leaving early lately." Kiyoshi muttered as he thought about grabbing a can of TaP.

" _ **Someday though, that aside wow you look gorgeous in that Kimono,**_ " The reporter said making Yukiko uncomfortable. " _ **You must have lots of male visitors.**_ "

"What a pervert." Kiyoshi muttered feeling sorry for Yukiko for having to put up with that.

This guy needed to get fired.

As the reporter began to go further off subject, Kiyoshi just turned his TV off and left to grab a TaP soda.

Something to keep him up until Midnight as it was going to rain that night, which meant the Midnight Channel will be on.

Given how the last two people who appeared on it were now dead it was a fair chance that the next target would also appear, Kiyoshi was pretty sure that Narukami and Yosuke were looking into it as well.

But he had a few hours before midnight so he'll need to pass the time and he didn't feel like studying.

So he booted up his computer and turned on the game CoW, a pretty large MMO.

He's had it for awhile but never really played it, so he figured it wouldn't hurt-although he's made sure to set an alarm on his phone to warn him if he was too into the game so he wouldn't miss it.

When he got to the character creation screen, Kiyoshi paused and began to make the character a bit like his Persona-as close as he could get.

After that it was a bit of a breeze to get into the game, especially since no one used the name Diaborosu before.

Although there was a bit of a problem with lag he actually got a friend request from someone he just played with on there.

SEES-Hermes… Okay that was a weird username.

Hermes was obviously a ploy off of the Greek Myth-er God but SEES? What does that stand for?

Still he figured this guy probably felt bad because as this was a new account he didn't have any friends to play with online.

His phone buzzed reminding him that it was close to midnight so he sent a message to SEES-Hermes that he was logging off.

The message he got back was ' _ **Alright, message me if you want to team up again dude.**_ '

Kiyoshi quirked a brow but shook his head.

With that done he logged off and yawned, standing up, rubbing his tired eyes.

He looked to the TV for a few minutes as the clock slowly changed to midnight and it came on, showing a young woman in some sort of kimono.

But the features of this woman were darkened and blurred so he couldn't get a good look at it.

Eventually it turned itself off with Kiyoshi sighing.

He really hopes they'll be able to find this person and get them out.

… But first he was going to get some sleep.

* * *

 _ **Saturday April 16th, 2011**_

Kiyoshi yawned while walking to school, holding another book in front of him as he walked, this one was actually a Sherlock Holmes book, A Study in Scarlet, he hasn't read it in ages and kind of figured reading it again he would be able to think more on the case as it was possible they overlooked something.

Probably a stupid reason to read a book but he wanted to try and be useful when they continue with the case-.

He stumbled however because he barely came to a stop when someone walked from around the corner, taking a step back as they were just as surprised.

"Sorry about that." Kiyoshi said in a low tone, finding it a bit surprising that he wasn't stuttering.

"No that was my fault, don't trouble yourself." The voice was pretty deep but sounded young, Kiyoshi closed his book as the person walked past him and he could see the guy with short blue hair and gray eyes wearing a dark blue double-breasted coat and plaid jeans with a blue hat over his head.

Kiyoshi found it surprising because he's never seen that guy before and this was a pretty small town but chalked it up to a tourist and walked to school, a smile coming across his face.

No stuttering while speaking to a stranger, even if it was only three words, he views that as progress.

Eventually he saw Narukami and Yosuke ahead talking, the latter on his bike before Kiyoshi gave a small smile and began to walk towards them.

As he did so however, his Shadow's words flashed through his mind making him stop. ' _ **You only came here because you're terrified of being abandoned, after all everyone else abandoned you.**_ '

He couldn't help but think that once this case was over-if they did catch the guy behind it, things might go back to how they were before and he bit his lip.

' _They wouldn't do that._ ' Kiyoshi reminded himself.

These two stayed with him and fought his Shadow when they could've just left. So they weren't like anyone else.

… Right?

Kiyoshi watched them leave not seeing him as he didn't get their attention and he found himself wondering if that was really true.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Alright, got the fourth chapter put out and Kiyoshi has faced his Shadow-I hope everyone enjoyed how it went along with what his 'issues' were-they're still there though as issues don't just disappear over the course of a single day.**_

 _ **So Kiyoshi still has his demons and they'll be taken care of during Narukami's Social Link with him, which will reveal more about Kiyoshi himself.**_

 _ **Plus his Persona… It's Diablos from Final Fantasy but I went with the Japanese name for him, I figured it would be interesting to do for a Persona.**_


	5. Amagi Castle Part 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 05: Amagi Castle Part 1**_

 _ **Saturday April 16th, 2011**_

Kiyoshi kept his head down while sitting in class, although he was sitting behind Narukami so he was inevitably pulled into the conversation, the two talking about what they saw on the Midnight Channel.

Truth be told, that bothered the reserved teen as he was pretty sure he's seen the person on there before but unlike with Saki he couldn't think of who it was and that annoyed him.

But the conversation stopped when Chie practically kicked down the door-or rather barged in, drawing quite the attention from the commotion with her panicked face.

As she ran towards them, Kiyoshi glanced around seeing that everyone was ignoring them despite that and found himself a bit relieved. The last thing they needed was for anyone to discover that they're investigating the Serial Murder Case.

"Satonaka, uh about yesterday," Yosuke looked a little guilty. "We're sorry we worried you."

Chie looked surprised as that caught her off guard before she could say anything. "Wha-oh never mind that now have any of you seen Yukiko?"

Just like that it clicked and Kiyoshi swore, earning their attention. "I knew the image on the Midnight Channel looked familiar! I saw her on the news in that Kimono before it came on," He said in annoyance. "Dammit."

"Hey you're not serious are you?" Yosuke asked now extremely worried.

"She was wearing a Kimono when I saw her last night." Narukami pointed out.

"Yeah but-wait what?" Yosuke looked at Narukami in surprise. "You saw her last night?"

"I saw her in the Flood Plain when I was on my way home." Narukami elaborated right when Chie cut in.

"Not important, are you sure it's her?!" Chie asked looking extremely worried, unnerving Kiyoshi a bit.

"Well I think it was but I could be wrong." He said trying to say that he didn't know.

"Still it's something we'll need to find out," Yosuke said not wanting to take any chances here. "Satonaka have you tried calling her?"

"It goes straight to voicemail." Chie said showing that was the first thing she did.

"You said she helps out at the Amagi Inn, maybe they're busy." Narukami pointed out as he was told that on his first day here when Chie and Yukiko invited him out.

"Y-Yeah didn't you say that it was the time of year when Tourists come to I-Inaba?" Kiyoshi asked forcing himself to try and not stutter. "So why not call the Inn?"

"That makes perfect sense," Chie said hope showing itself in her voice as she pulled out her phone and dialed the inn number. "Come on Yukiko, pick up."

"Dude do you really think she's in there?" Yosuke asked in worry.

He lost Saki, sure it was revealed she hated him in the end but he still counted her as someone he cared for. Yosuke would rather be damned then let Chie go through the same thing with losing Yukiko.

"It's a possibility, we'll need to head in there to meet up with Teddie regardless if Chie managed to get in contact with Amagi-San." Narukami said with Yosuke giving a nod.

"I checked t-the weather report this morning, it won't be at all this week so if she's in there w-we have time to get her out." Kiyoshi said earning a grin.

"Good thinking, man you and Narukami are on top of it." Yosuke said earning a confused look from Kiyoshi leaving the brunette to elaborate. "Narukami tried to stick his hand in the TV during the Midnight Channel to see if he could pull the person out."

"I'm guessing it didn't work?" Kiyoshi asked a bit disappointed because that would've made things easy.

"Oh thank God." Chie said getting off the phone looking relieved. "You were right, she's pretty busy at the Inn."

"Okay so we can cross her off the list of people being in there," Yosuke said sounding relieved. "Still that leaves the question of who we saw."

"We'll find out when we ask Teddie." Narukami said right when the warning bell rang, warning them to get to their seats so Morooka wouldn't single them out.

* * *

School passed by quickly and they were in front of the TV's, Kiyoshi however was on edge as there were a lot of customers in the electronics department, so there would be quite the panic if they tried to go into the TV.

Narukami was explaining to Chie about what happened the other night.

"Okay I think that's enough of mine and Kiyoshi-San's sorry escapades." Yosuke said a bit embarrassed.

"Wow, if I haven't seen the place first hand I would never have believed a story like that." Chie said sounding a bit amazed.

"We lived it and I'm having trouble believing it." Kiyoshi said with an eye roll.

"No kidding, anyways we need to know what's going on inside," Yosuke said however he looked around. "Although that might be a bit difficult, man I forgot today was a special on electronics."

"Just as long as they don't buy the TV we're good." Kiyoshi muttered.

"I got it," Yosuke said with a grin. "Satonaka, Kiyoshi come with me."

Chie and Kiyoshi glanced at each other in confusion, listening to Yosuke as he stood on one side, and had Chie stand on the other.

"Narukami you get between Satonaka and I and Kiyoshi you stand behind Narukami," Yosuke explained to them. "The three of us will form a wall while Narukami place his hand in there to get Teddie's attention, I'll bet that bear is wandering around the entrance anyways."

"And I'll have my phone out that way if people hear his voice they'll think it's on speaker." Kiyoshi said earning a nod from Narukami as that would make it less likely for people to think Teddie's voice was coming from the turned off TV.

Kiyoshi kept an eye for anyone watching while Narukami did that, but the reserved teen wasn't prepared for when the silver haired teen made a small groan of pain and pulled his hand out covered with bite marks.

"Something bit me." Narukami muttered with Chie's eyes widening.

"Whoa and it left marks are you okay?"

"... I might be dying." Narukami deadpanned earning a look from Chie.

"No you're not… Sheesh that stupid bear must've done it," Chie glared at the TV screen as the ripples were still there showing that the entrance was still open. "Hey you we know you're in there."

"Ooh! Ooh! Is this a game?" Teddie's voice came out with eagerness in his tone.

"No this isn't a game," Yosuke said keeping his voice low. "Can you sense anyone in there right now?"

"Who's 'anyone'?" Teddie asked in a playful manner. "I'm just a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so… Bear-en."

As Teddie snickered, Kiyoshi slowly blinked. "Is… Is he really telling bear puns right now?"

"Shut it," Chie quietly snapped at Teddie. "So there's no one inside? Are you sure?"

"I-I'm not lying," Teddie said now getting that they weren't in the mood. "My nose is running as good as ever."

"..." Chie looked conflicted when the entrance closed, showing they were done talking to Teddie. "I'm going to warn Yukiko anyway. Since she'll be so busy this weekend helping out at the Inn, I doubt she'll go anywhere alone… Still."

"Better safe than sorry." Kiyoshi muttered with Chie nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you'll walk with her to school on Monday right?" Yosuke questioned.

"No arguments there." Chie said looking a bit fired up to protect her friend. "I'll pick her up at her house."

"Then we can't do anything else, maybe we'll find out more on the Midnight Channel tonight?" Yosuke suggested. "All we can do is cross our fingers and pray this is a misunderstanding."

He then looked at Narukami. "What's your number? We'll need to contact each other if something does come up," He said pulling his phone out. "You too Kiyoshi."

Kiyoshi gave a nod and pulled his phone out, swapping numbers with both Narukami and Yosuke while Chie left to head to the Amagi Inn.

* * *

Kiyoshi frowned as he was messing with his phone before grinning.

Finally got a chat room setup with Narukami and Yosuke's numbers put in, he figured it would be easier since with phone calls unless you do a three-way call no one would have to wait if they texted each other like this.

Plus less chance of someone overhearing their conversation if they texted.

He was about to text them to let them know about this when he noticed the time.

It was Midnight.

' _Was I really working on this so late._ '

Looking at the TV as the Midnight Channel came on, Kiyoshi was expecting it to be the same as the last few times.

What he wasn't expecting was some weird show coming on.

" _ **Good evening,**_ " the girl on the television said. The girl wore a pink, flowing ball gown decorated with roses. She wore matching pink arm-length gloves and a golden tiara. Her hair was long and black and she was fairly skinned. She was holding a microphone of a similar color up to her mouth. She smiled sweetly as she said. " _ **Princess Yukiko has a surprise for all of you!**_ "

"The hell?" Kiyoshi muttered a bit wide-eyed not expecting this.

" _ **I'm going to score myself a hot stud!**_ "

Kiyoshi was pretty sure his brain needed time to reboot just to think about what she just said.

There was no way this was the reserved and polite Yukiko that he's seen around the school-okay sure he hasn't interacted with her that much-only saying excuse me when passing by her in a hallway-but still this was ridiculous.

" _ **Welcome to Not a Dream, Not a Hoax: Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming! And I came prepared~!**_ " Yukiko chirped in a rather sickly sweet tone. She showed no hesitation or embarrassment in her next action, which involved grabbing her crotch. Needless to say, Kiyoshi found himself extremely uncomfortable with his face heating up, even more so when the camera showed a good deal of her cleavage. " _ **I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom!**_ "

Kiyoshi couldn't take it anymore and looked away pinching his nose trying to calm himself down… As well as stop it from bleeding.

Okay this was… What was he watching?!

He calmly took his phone out to text the others, glancing back at the screen, relieved to see that it zoomed away from Yukiko a bit. " _ **And my heart is ready to go!**_ " Yukiko exclaimed as she made a heart-shaped formation with her hands over her chest. " _ **I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is going to be all mine!**_ "

And there went Kiyoshi being uncomfortable again.

" _ **Weeeellll...here I go~!**_ " With that said, Yukiko turned and made her way over towards the castle in the background. The television screen then went black leaving him to quickly text while his brain was still processing this.

 _ **{Chat Room}**_

Kiyoshi: ... So did any of you see that?

Hanamura: I did-hey wait why are we texting?

Kiyoshi: Less chance of someone overhearing us talk.

Narukami: Good call. I saw it all and I'm a bit unsettled.

Hanamura: A BIT?! That was completely bizarre!

Kiyoshi: Calm down Hanamura-San, there's one good thing about this.

Hanamura: … What? Did you record it?

Narukami: I did.

Hanamura: I WAS JOKING!

Kiyoshi: … Did you really record it? I wasn't aware we could do this with the Midnight Channel.

Hanamura: Not the point, we're getting off topic, what's the good thing about this?

Narukami: We now know for sure Amagi-San is in there which means we can plan from there on getting her out.

Hanamura: … Good point. Okay we'll need to meet up tomorrow, luckily it's Sunday so no school. Does Junes work for you guys? We could eat lunch there and then head in-that way no one thinks anything of it.

Narukami: It does but we're going to need weapons, our Personas might be good but we'll need more protection than a Golf Club and two wrenches.

Kiyoshi: And we'll need to be careful, with the Police investigating a Double Homicide for a Serial Murder Case the last thing we'll need is to swing weapons around bringing attention to us.

Hanamura: Point, I have some weapons in my closet-they're fake but they should be good.

Narukami: Alright, we'll meetup and discuss what we'll do from there.

 _ **{End Chat}**_

Closing out of the chat, Kiyoshi sighed and looked at the blank TV with a troubled expression.

He still had no damn clue what they saw.

* * *

 _ **Sunday April 17th, 2011**_

Kiyoshi was up pretty early despite not falling asleep until one in the morning and when he did fall asleep all he had were nightmares of Shadows attacking.

That meant he wasn't that well-rested but right now he was determined not to let that slow him down.

So right now he was wearing a black hoodie with blue horizontal stripes that was unzipped to show a black t-shirt and blue jeans as he figured going to Junes in his school uniform on a Sunday would make him stand out.

He also wore the special glasses that Teddie made for when they go in-actually he's been using them for reading as well as they worked out for that along with everything else.

' _Maybe Teddie should become an eye doctor._ ' Kiyoshi thought in amusement, grabbing his backpack.

But as he went to leave, Kiyoshi froze at hearing the TV on downstairs along with snoring.

Tensing a bit he silently walked down the stairs, seeing a shape passed out on the living room couch, a blanket covering them to hide their features.

There were some empty beer cans nearby to so Kiyoshi quickly but silently made his way out the front door, breathing a sigh of relief when he did so.

He wasn't expecting for him to still be home, then again he usually never leaves his room on a Sunday due to being a bit of a shut-in.

From there it didn't take him long to get to Junes where he saw Narukami sitting at a table making paper cranes. "You do Origami?" Kiyoshi asked sitting across from him.

"Everyone needs a hobby." Narukami said without missing a beat. "Hanamura-San said he would be late."

"Good thing I brought a book." Kiyoshi muttered pulling it out of his bag, but he didn't open it yet. "Hey mind if I ask something?"

Narukami looked up at him, waiting for the question.

"How come your shadow didn't appear?" Kiyoshi wasn't sure if he was overstepping anything or not but he was truly curious. "I mean it happened with Hanamura-San and I, so why not you?"

"Who knows." Narukami said with a shrug leaving for Kiyoshi to sigh.

"Kind of figured that would be the case."

"You aren't stuttering." Narukami said out of nowhere leaving for Kiyoshi's cheeks to redden a bit at that being brought up.

"Uh well I-," Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his head, eyes looking down at his book. "I… I guess it's because there's no point in me being careful around you, Teddie or Hanamura-San, you already saw the worst of me."

Kiyoshi sighed and leaned back.

"I mean I'm still nervous because I'm not good at socializing but I'm also relieved," Kiyoshi smiled. "After all I can't exactly screw it up since you saw all that and who knows if I can talk to you and Hanamura-San regularly I might be able to do that to other people too."

Although that was a bit of a pipe dream right now… Heh a week ago if someone told him he would be able to talk normally to someone he would've thought they were crazy.

Taking a deep breath, Kiyoshi forced himself to look right at Narukami instead of his book. "But right now we have to save Amagi-San before something bad happens to her, I'll work on my problems after she's safe."

Narukami felt his lips twitch. "I'll be counting on you." He said as he said something like that to Yosuke the other day.

Kiyoshi froze a bit, never having someone say that to him and he smiled. "I'll make sure I don't fail your expectations… Narukami-Sama."

 _Smash!_

Unknown to Kiyoshi however, Narukami heard the sound of glass shattering as a blue card appeared between them, time looking like it slowed down to a stop in the process.

Just like the one with Yosuke when they made that promise to catch the killer after getting their Persona's, but this time it showed a different image. The image showed a cage being held along with a single eye underneath it with the Roman Numeral IX on it.

" _ **Thou art I... And I am thou.**_

 _ **Thou hast established a new bond.**_

 _ **It brings thee closer to the truth.**_

 _ **Thou shalt be blessed when creating**_

 _ **Personas of the Hermit Arcana.**_ "

The card then disappeared right into Narukami's chest showing he made another Social Link-something he was given a bit of an explanation on as it helped amplified his Persona Skills.

And not only his but these Social Links also help give strength to the people they belong to and right now he had two. One with Yosuke Hanamura being the Magician and another with Hisoka Kiyoshi being the Hermit.

The power to strengthen one's heart through bonds, that was what he depicted these Social Links as.

Just like that time seemed to go back to normal.

"Sama?" Narukami asked seeing Kiyoshi freeze up and look nervous.

"Uh well… You're the first of us to get this power and all," Kiyoshi said almost babbling. "I mean yeah I figured it would fit."

"Hey!" Yosuke's voice called through catching their attention with Kiyoshi looking relieved at the distraction as the Junes Prince had four trays full of food, two in his hands and holding two on his arms with good dexterity showing a lot of practice in doing stuff like this along with a gym bag hanging off his shoulder.

"Hanamura-San… How much did you get?" Narukami asked as Yosuke placed the food on the table.

"Enough to where we'll have energy to spare when we go look for Amagi-San." Yosuke said sitting between Narukami and Kiyoshi, gesturing to the one he placed near an empty seat on the other side of Narukami. "That one's for Satonaka, I texted her saying we would meet up here."

"Um I'll pay you back." Kiyoshi said as this was a bit much but Yosuke waved it off.

"Don't worry about it Kiyoshi, I'll be working some good hours in a few days so my paycheck will be good," Yosuke said with a grin. "Right now let's just dig in."

Chie came in a few minutes later looking ragged and her eyes widened when she saw the scene. "What are you guys doing?!" She asked getting their attention. "Yukiko is missing and you're having lunch?!"

"We need to eat." Yosuke said with a mouthful of food before swallowing. "Come on sit down and eat something."

"I can't eat!" Chie snapped and Narukami quickly mediated before the argument drew any attention from any nearby police officers.

Especially since Yosuke said he had the weapons in his gym bag when they began to eat.

"We're no good if we're hungry while we go in there," Narukami said taking in her appearance. "When was the last time you ate?"

As if to answer his question, her stomach growled pretty loudly making her look away stubbornly. "I didn't eat last night, I was too worried to eat."

"Or sleep for that matter." Kiyoshi whispered as he could see the bags but he paled when Chie glared at him for that remark.

"Come on, I got you Steak." Yosuke said as he made a trip to a different store in the Shopping District to get it-getting a few glares while doing so due to the Junes/Shopping District rivalry going on.

Chie hesitated as she wanted to look for Yukiko right away.

"We'll head on in once we finish eating I promise." Narukami said with a smile and that made Chie's resolve fall apart as she sat down.

Kiyoshi had to stop himself from staring because Chie began to tear into the steak using her hands instead of the silverware.

' _Man she must've been starving._ ' He thought with some sweat dripping down the back of his head.

"Hey slow down before you choke." Yosuke said a bit worried.

"Sutch ip." Chie muttered with a mouthful but she swallowed when she said the next sentence. "The police were asking around the Amagi Inn… They think Yukiko is laying low."

"Wait they think Amagi-San did it?!" Yosuke asked in surprise.

"That's messed up." Kiyoshi said not believing that.

Narukami frowned. "Why do they think that?"

Taking another bite out of her steak, Chie looked a bit thoughtful-if not pissed off. "It's because Yamano that announcer was staying at the Inn the night before she died," She explained catching their attention. "Apparently she yelled at Yukiko's Mom to the point where she collapsed."

"Giving the Police a theory for a motive." Kiyoshi muttered paling at that.

"Dammit Amagi-San is the victim here," Yosuke said angered at hearing that. "How the hell could they think that?!"

"What's important is that we get her out of there." Narukami said not liking the implications the Police were making either.

* * *

Pretty soon all four of them were in the TV where they saw Teddie off to the side holding his head. "Whoa, it really is that bear from last time." Chie said in surprise.

"Yeah uh… What are you doing?" Yosuke asked with the bear having a troubled expression.

"Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff," Teddie muttered not turning towards them. "I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now."

He then looked up with a smile.

"Hey, that wasn't a bad joke, heehee." Teddie cheered.

"If you say so." Kiyoshi said unsure about that.

"Ugh, so did you figure anything out?" Yosuke asked with a groan but then crossed his arms with a contemplative look. "Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull and it was empty."

Teddie spun around to glare at the brunette. "How rude!" He said stomping his foot, then relaxing a split second later. "You're right though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head."

"Will you guys shut up?!" Chie snapped in annoyance her eyes flickering yellow like Yosuke's did the other day. "Now's not the time for stupid jokes. Listen… Someone came in here yesterday right?"

Teddie gave Chie a surprised look, his pupils dilating a bit. "Wow, there's a girl with a better nose than me?" He asked, awe in his tone. "What's your name Miss?"

"Better nose?" Kiyoshi mouthed to Yosuke who looked just as bewildered.

"M-Miss? Uh I'm Chie," Chie said not sure how to take being called 'Miss' but she got right to business. "Nevermind that, tell me more about this 'someone'."

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys," Teddie explained to them. "A little after that happened it felt like someone was here."

"Is it Amagi-San?!" Yosuke asked in concern.

"I don't know, I haven't looked." Teddie said shaking his head. "The presence is over this way."

"Over there huh?" Chie muttered looking to where Teddie was pointing. "Is everybody ready?"

"Hang on, let me get everyone geared up." Yosuke said opening his Gym Bag. "It's a miracle I was able to get this stuff through Junes."

Inside of the bag were a four types of weapons.

"They're all fake-trust me it was hard enough getting these without raising suspicion, but they'll work better than what we've used, what do you guys want?" Yosuke asked with Narukami calmly grabbing a katana that was in there, giving it a practice strike.

Kiyoshi looked through there before grabbing a small staff.

It was more of a walking stick than anything else, but he wasn't comfortable with any of the blades-even if they were fake.

Yosuke gave a nod and grabbed two daggers, dual-wielding like he did with the wrenches. "Satonaka I grabbed some metal-plated shoes so you can defend yourself." He said knowing that Chie specialized in kicks from all the times he's been on the receiving end of them.

"You sure this won't break?" Kiyoshi asked looking at his staff.

"Positive… I think." Yosuke added that last part as an afterthought while Chie replaced her regular shoes.

"Alright, come on." Chie said looking very determined to save Yukiko.

Yosuke panicked as she ran. "What the hell Satonaka?!" He shouted with them running after her.

* * *

"Wasn't this...on the Midnight Channel last night?" Chie turned to Narukami, Yosuke, Kiyoshi and Teddie as they caught up to her.

The five of them were standing on a stone bridge leading towards a huge castle that resembled other castles found in typical European fairy tales. The castle entrance consisted of a black and red vortex, much like the sky above. Altogether, there was something ominous about the castle.

"Why a castle?" Yosuke couldn't help but question.

"Yukiko was always a fan of fairy tales growing up, I guess it bled over to this place, however that works." Chie said sounding unsure herself.

"So this castle is Amagi-Sans reality?" Kiyoshi muttered to himself, crossing his arms in thought. "Interesting."

Yosuke turned to Teddie. "You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?"

Teddie blinked. "Program? I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."

"'From the beginning'?" Yosuke repeated, scowling afterwards. "That's what we don't understand!"

"I dunno...can you guys explain everything about your world?" Teddie simply asked-Kiyoshi giving him that one. "I've never seen this 'program' thingy before. So I don't know."

"Well...is that really what's happening?" Chie was confused. "Are we really looking into this world? Because the first time Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off? I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all!"

Teddie looked questioningly at Chie. "'Score'? 'Stud'?"

Yosuke ignored Teddie. "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either... Amagi-San would never say anything like that."

"I don't even know her and I know she wouldn't say something like that." Kiyoshi deadpanned.

Yosuke crossed his arms. "Huh...I wonder...Is this kinda like what happened to Kiyoshi and I last time?"

Teddie turned to Yosuke. "There's a lot of stuff I still don't get. But after hearing your story... I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that."

"So...Yukiko is producing that show herself?" Chie asked as she furrowed her brow. "Ugh, I don't get this at all!"

"I don't think any of us get this." Kiyoshi rubbed his temple hoping to relieve a headache he was getting.

"Hey...do you feel Yukiko's presence from inside?" Chie asked Teddie as she looked at the castle.

"I'm pretty sure...so, um, what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing?" Teddie asked curiously. "Why would anyone want to score a horse?"

"... You want to take that?" Kiyoshi looked at Narukami not wanting to explain that to the bear.

"Yukiko's here," Chie's gaze was focused on the castle. "I'm going on ahead!"

With that she ran in there before anyone could speak up to stop her.

"Hey don't go on ahead," Yosuke tried to say but she was already through the entrance. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Urk...there are lots of Shadows in the castle..." Teddie said with a nervous expression on his face. "It'll be dangerous inside for a girl by herself"

Yosuke narrowed his eyes at Teddie. "Dude, are you serious? Why didn't you tell us before?!"

Teddie laughed nervously. "Oops." He said poking his fingers together as if he was a child that was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Come on, let's go find Satonaka!" Narukami said, gesturing at the castle before running off, Yosuke following after him while Teddie stayed behind.

"You guys go ahead, I'll just...guard the entrance!" Teddie said looking nervous as he didn't want to be placed in any danger. "Yeah that's it, I'll make a beary good guard and make everything all the more… Bearable for you."

Kiyoshi frowned and grabbed him by the back of his suit. "If we're risking our lives you are too."

"Hey, careful! I'm beary delicate," Teddie protested waving his arms all over the place as Kiyoshi struggled to pull him towards the entrance. "This is bear abuse!"

"So? Call Peta."

"... Who is Peta?"

* * *

"They really need to fire whoever made the decor here." Kiyoshi said feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rising as they were inside of the castle.

"No kidding, this place is creepy." Yosuke agreed, all of them running through it trying to catch up to Chie before she runs into a Shadow by herself.

"Satonaka!" Narukami called out making sure if she was nearby or not but Teddie began to shake.

"Shadows approaching."

On hearing that Narukami and Yosuke got ready, holding their weapons, leaving for Kiyoshi to take a deep breath.

' _Alright you can do this._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself trying to keep his heart from racing in fear. ' _Narukami and Hanamura fought before and you can't fall behind._ '

Kiyoshi refuses to let his fear control him this time.

Seeing the dark blobs on the floor, the three tensed as they split into three creatures-the same ones that attacked them when Narukami gained his Persona.

"It's a Lying Hableris!" Teddie warned them making Kiyoshi think about asking Teddie for a detailed explanation on the Shadows, maybe he could write it down so they have something to work with. "They're weak to electricity."

Seeing the blue cards appear before Narukami and Yosuke, Kiyoshi focused right as his card appeared and soon the three cried out.

"Izanagi!"

"Let's do this Jiraiya!"

"Come forth Diaborosu!"

The Persona's appeared in an instant, separating the Lying Hableris, leaving one for each of them as Izanagi easily dispatched one of them, knocking it to the ground while Yosuke hit the second one with a wind attack, calling out Garu, in the process.

Diaborosu sliced across the third one but the inexperience ended up biting Kiyoshi as it slammed into the Persona making Kiyoshi clutch his chest in pain before a word appeared in his head.

"Sukunda!" He called out, dark energy surrounding the enemy he was facing and he could see it lagging a bit as if it got slower, easy enough for Diaborosu to dodge leaving it open to be smacked by the small staff he had when a second word popped in his head and Kiyoshi threw his hand out. "Eiha!"

Like how his shadow blasted the others Persona's, this one blasted the Shadow-on a much smaller scale but it finished it off at the same time as Yosuke-Narukami already finishing his off.

"Nice job, you three really showed them." Teddie cheered jumping up and down while Yosuke slowly twirled his fake daggers.

"Not bad, I think we're getting the hang of this." Yosuke said with a grin.

Narukami gave a slight smile. "Come on, we need to catch up to Satonaka."

"Lead the way Partner." Yosuke said as Narukami was the most experienced out of all of them.

From there on they ran into a few more shadows, almost all of them were Lying Hableris, but they ended up fighting some weird mechanical fish thing that Teddie identified as a Calm Pesce that were pretty strong to physical moves so their makeshift weapons were useless against those things.

"Okay forget Manga, I feel like we're in a video game." Kiyoshi muttered, panting as they ended up finishing another fight, the others didn't look too winded.

"You're tired already?" Narukami asked in surprise.

Kiyoshi went red and looked away. "... This is the most physical work I've done in a while." He admitted as he never exercised that much.

"Well you could change that, the sport teams will be opening up sometime this week, I think they'll have openings in Basketball, Soccer and Track." Yosuke suggested with Kiyoshi making a face. "Not a fan of sports?"

"Not really."

But he'll admit he might look into them because he won't be of any use to anyone if he gets exhausted just like that.

"Guys there's the stairs." Teddie said pointing straight ahead.

Narukami however had a surprised look before he held his hand out and a tarot card appeared with Izanagi disappearing. "Partner-?" Yosuke began to ask only for him to gap when a new being took Izanagi's place. "What the hell?!"

It was an extremely small woman with a mischievous look on her face with short brown hair, clad in blue-wings sticking out the back.

And by small, Kiyoshi meant that this girl could literally fit in the palm of his hands.

" _ **I am thou, my name is Pixie, hope we get along.**_ " The fairy thing spoke surprising them even further.

"Huh a new Persona." Narukami said as the same man who told him about the Social Links told him about this possibility.

So anytime they defeat a new enemy he might get a new Persona?

"Wait another Persona? Can we do that?" Yosuke asked in surprise as he tried, leaving for Pixie to giggle.

" _ **No silly, only the Fool can use multiple Personas, you're a Magician.**_ " Pixie explained.

"Fool? Magician? What like a Tarot Deck?" Kiyoshi asked curiously earning a nod.

" _ **Correct Hermit.**_ "

"... I don't know why I'm surprised." Kiyoshi muttered a bit insulted but he could see why he was called that.

"Aw man that would've been cool." Yosuke lamented leaving for Kiyoshi to see the weird sight of Jiraiya who was still out to huddle in a corner as if he was depressed while Diaborosu just placed a hand on his face in annoyance.

Huh so their Persona's have a bit of personality as well?

"Hanamura-San." Narukami pointed to Jiraiya leaving for Yosuke to panic.

"Not that you aren't cool Jiraiya." He said surprised by this.

Jiraiya perked up and jumped into the air happily.

Kiyoshi looked at Diaborosu. "So… Can you talk?" He asked watching his Persona just scoff and roll his eyes.

… Okay then.

"Sensei's power is seriously amazing." Teddie said looking excited.

"We've already been here for twenty minutes, just how has Chie avoided the Shadows?" Yosuke asked checking his phone.

They might not have a signal but the time feature still works pretty well.

"It could be because they're more focused on you guys due to your Persona's." Teddie theorized with Narukami giving a nod.

"Makes sense we're the biggest threat to them at the moment."

"Aw man, for real?" Yosuke hung his head at hearing that.

"Right well Chie-Chan is definitely nearby just up the stairs-," Teddie paused sniffing the air. "Hold up, something's wrong."

"What?" Yosuke asked holding the daggers apprehensively.

"The atmosphere is different." Kiyoshi muttered as he could feel it pretty well, especially with Diaboros on edge.

"Is everyone fit to continue?" Narukami asked looking between them, seeing some light injuries on them.

Noticing what he was looking at, Yosuke paused and looked at Jiraiya. "What for real?"

"Huh?" Kiyoshi asked not sure what was going on.

' _ **The boy is having a conversation with his other self,**_ ' A dark voice explained making Kiyoshi jump. ' _ **Just like how we are conversing, I do hope you don't jump every time I speak up.**_ '

Kiyoshi looked at Diaborosu in surprise, definitely not expecting that.

It seemed Izanagi-who Narukami switched back to explained the same thing. "What did Jiraiya say?"

"Heh just watch." Yosuke said with a grin as Jiraiya got ready. "Dia!"

Light surrounded Yosuke as his injuries healed up.

"... Hey why are we shouting it out?" Kiyoshi couldn't help but ask as he did the same thing earlier but it was instinctual.

" _ **That's because while we can attack physically our other attacks work like spells that need to be focused-calling them out helps in that regard,**_ " Diaborosu explained, talking this time, taking everybody by surprise. " _ **And that draws energy from you as we are thou.**_ "

"I see," Narukami said while Yosuke did the same thing to heal both him and Kiyoshi up. "Thanks."

"Not a problem Partner," Yosuke said looking a little winded but otherwise alright. "Well looks like I'm the Medic here."

Narukami, Yosuke, Kiyoshi and Teddie proceeded to make their way up the stairs-their Personas disappearing to let them save strength during the process. As they went up, Teddie decided to strike up a conversation with them.

"You're good at fighting, Sensei," Teddie said. "Compared to you, Yosuke and Kiyoshi stinks."

Yosuke glared. "Man, all I get is crap from you… Still he has a point, you seem to be a natural at the Partner."

"I'll say." Kiyoshi was surprised by just how good Narukami was in this place, it was as if he's been fighting for years despite only having this Persona power for what, three days?

"Isn't he?" Teddie smiled. "So you should be the one to give Yosuke and Kiyoshi orders during a fight."

Yosuke made a face. "It ticks me off to hear Teddie say that stuff, but I don't wanna cause trouble doing my own thing in battle... Don't hesitate to order me around. I'm counting on you."

"Yeah same here." Kiyoshi muttered as he was the one lacking so far and he figured he could deal with that if it meant getting out of this alive.

Narukami hesitated slightly but it was so quick that Kiyoshi thought he imagined it before the silver haired teen gave a nod, accepting that.

When they found Chie, she was just standing there, staring off into nothing. She didn't respond to Yosuke when he called for her, she just stood there and stared.

" ** _She said that red looks good on me._** "

"Amagi-san?!" Yosuke looked around.

"Where is she?" Narukami muttered, as the girl was nowhere to be seen but her voice was pretty clear.

"Wait is this like when we heard Konishi-Senpai's voice?" Kiyoshi asked with Yosuke shaking his head.

"It can't be." He muttered thinking that would mean she would be dead.

"No it's her inner self, we're hearing her thoughts." Teddie explained.

" _ **I hated my name...Yukiko...'Snow'...Snow is cold and it melts quickly... It's transient… worthless.**_ " Her tone was so despondent and bitter. " _ **But it's perfect for me... Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless... Still...Chie told me that red looks good on me.**_ "

"She thinks she's worthless?" Kiyoshi asked surprised by that.

He always remembered seeing her smiling when he passed by, usually with Chie, but then again he thought the same the other day.

"I...Yukiko." Chie frowned in concern, not liking what she was hearing.

" _ **Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning.**_ " Yukiko's tone began to have a hint of caring in it. " _ **She's bright and strong, and she can do anything... She has everything that I don't...Compared to Chie, I'm...I'm.**_ "

Chie's eyes widened. "Wha?"

" _ **Chie protects me...She looks after my worthless life...And I... I don't deserve any of it...Chie is so kind...so...perfect.**_ "

"Yukiko, I-I..." Tears were streaming down Chie's cheeks. "Please."

She just wants to get her friend back-.

"' _ **Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke.**_ "

"Wh-What...?!" Chie started wiping her face using the sleeves of her jacket. She looked straight ahead afterwards, her eyes widening when she saw something appear out of the shadows. It was her...only...with yellow eyes and a dark aura emanating from her body.

"Oh, man...Is that...?!" Yosuke felt uneasy...he was getting a major case of déjà vu from this.

"I think it is." Kiyoshi said unnerved by this.

"It's just like what happened with Yosuke and Kiyoshi!" Teddie frowned. "She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!"

" _ **Are we talking about THAT Yukiko?!**_ " Shadow Chie's smile was twisted and her tone was derisive. " _ **She says I'm protecting her?! She says she's worthless!**_ "

"Oh boy this is going to get ugly." Narukami said seeing what this Shadow was trying to do.

Shadow Chie chuckled. " _ **That's how it should be, right?**_ "

"Wh-What're you saying?" Chie was shocked by the audacity of this shadow-especially with it having her face.

" _ **Yukiko's sooo good-looking...sooo fair-skinned...sooo feminine.**_ " Shadow Chie's jealousy was evident in her tone. " _ **She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy...Man, did I get a charge out of that...she even called me 'perfect'. Eheheh...Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around...I'm better than her... Much, much better!**_ "

"No! I have never thought that!" Chie denied with a glare, looking ready to kick this Shadow.

"Wh-What are we going to do?" Yosuke asked some slight fear in his voice.

He's not too keen on fighting a Shadow version of Chie after all the times he's been kicked in the balls or the gut by the real one.

"We need to protect Satonaka." Narukami said brandishing the Imitation Katana he had while Kiyoshi gulped.

"Right, hopefully we can get her to accept that thing without too much fuss." He said trying to look on the brighter side.

"Let's get to her right now, she needs our help." Teddie declared the four running to Chie-that got her attention.

"N-No! Don't come near me, don't look at me!"

They would've still approached her if shadows didn't come out of nowhere, blocking their path.

"Crap we're surrounded!" Yosuke said him, Narukami and Kiyoshi looking around as an army of Lying Hableris and Calm Pesce kept popping out of the floor and walls.

"This isn't me." Chie muttered holding her hands, genuine fear in her tone. "This is nothing but lies."

Yosuke panicked. "Wait stupid, don't say stuff like that!"

"Just listen!" Kiyoshi tried to say but his voice was drown out by Shadow Chie who gave a chuckle.

" _ **That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone,**_ " Shadow Chie said placing her hands on her hips, looking at Chie with a cocky smirk. " _ **I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person… I'm pathetic.**_ "

The smirk got bigger.

" _ **But Yukiko… She depends on me,**_ " Shadow Chie's chuckle got a little louder. " _ **That's why she's my friend… I'll never loosen my grip on her… She's too important to me.**_ "

"No… That's not how I think of her." Chie said glaring hatefully at the Shadow, not noticing how darker the other her eyes were getting.

" _ **So, you're just going to turn your back and deny me again?**_ " Shadow Chie asked a hint of a threatening tone showing. " _ **But things are different now. When the time comes… I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind right? I'm still you.**_ "

"Shut up," Chie had enough of this. "You're-!"

"Chie no!" Yosuke called out trying to stop her.

"Don't." Kiyoshi followed but Narukami gripped the Katana and prepped himself.

"Call your Persona's now!" Narukami ordered knowing that all hell was about to break loose.

"You're not me!" Chie shouted at her shadow who smirked in pleasure at those words.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Man oh man, things are really heating up-sorry for the cliffhanger I felt like this would be the perfect place to stop for the moment but I hope everyone is enjoying this story.**_

 _ **Yes Kiyoshi's Arcana is the Hermit instead of the Fox taking that one-I think it fits Kiyoshi more given what I've shown so far. Then we have the changes with his involvement already since Narukami and Yosuke weren't arrested for swinging weapons out in public and they have a chat room-like Persona 5-I'd figure with the risk of being overheard they would do that, especially since it's natural for teens to be texting.**_

 _ **Alright next time will be the fight against Chie's Shadow so look forward to it.**_


	6. Amagi Castle Part 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 06: Amagi Castle Part 2**_

 _ **Sunday April 17th, 2011**_

It got deathly silent as those words echoed all around them, even the Shadows weren't making any noise, Chie glaring in pure hatred at her shadow for all the things it suggested right as darkness began to swirl around it.

Eventually that silence was broken when Shadow Chie began to give an insane laugh, prompting for the three boys to summon their Personas.

Energy exploded from Shadow Chie, knocking the real Chie off her feet blinded everyone, soon the darkness subsided and they could see another form that took the Shadow's place.

Kiyoshi blinked, unsure of how to take this one as the shadow was in the form of some sort of dominatrix in scantily yellow leather, even a yellow cone-shaped mask with a yellow smiley face drawn on it, yellow gloves and sharp knee high yellow boots, underneath her were three puppets that resembled Chie and Yukiko in school uniforms.

In her hands was one razor sharp whip that she slapped the ground with, cutting into it and her long black hair was moving on its own, some of them slicing into the wall around them.

" _ **I am a Shadow… The True Self,**_ " Shadow Chie declared, a dangerous glint in her eyes right as she moved to slice Chie in half with her whip, but Yosuke dove in, grabbing Chie, tackling her out of the way, barely missed being sliced open. " _ **What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'Real' me?**_ "

"Zio!" Narukami called out with Izanagi blasting the shadows around them to give them breathing room as Jiraiya and Diaborosu shot in, blocking Shadow Chie's whip from hitting Yosuke.

"You alright Chie?" Yosuke asked using her name instead of the family name as the martial artist gave a nod, in shock at what just happened.

" _ **Then you're going to pay the price.**_ " Shadow Chie said seeing that.

Yosuke glared and stood up. "Shut up! Quit being such a pain!" He said, getting ready to fight with Jiraiya right by him. "Chie we won't let you get hurt."

"H-Hanamura?" Chie asked as if to make sure that was him.

In all the years she's known him, Yosuke never looked ready for a fight like this.

" _ **Ha think you can stop me that easy?!**_ " Shadow Chie asked snapping her whip as all of the Shadows began to attack from every angle.

Seeing Narukami having some trouble with the multiple Shadows, Kiyoshi focused. "Eiha!" He said with Diaborosu swooping in, to blast some of the Calm Pesce's away as Izanagi was handling the Lying Hableris pretty easily.

Jiraiya grabbed Yosuke and Chie, jumping into the air as Shadow Chie's hair shot at them, impaling the floor, twisting his body to dodge the locks following him them splitting up to go for Narukami and Kiyoshi before their Persona's took the hit-being more durable than them.

But both teens felt the pain as they cried out being knocked off their feet.

"Careful she has a long reach." Teddie said scared by this with Jiraiya dropping Chie and Yosuke off next to him.

"We can see that Ted, get Chie out of here." Yosuke said gripping his daggers. "Let's do this Jiraiya! Garu!"

Wind erupted from his Persona making Shadow Chie cry out as the three shadows under her gave out making her land on the ground.

"She's vulnerable, now's your chance!" Teddie said with Narukami catching on.

"Hanamura! Kiyoshi!" He called out jumping for Izanagi to grab him as they began to charge at Chie's Shadow Yosuke and Kiyoshi doing the same.

"On it."

"W-Wait for me!"

All of them began to lay into the Shadow, Zio's, Garu's and Eiha's flying everywhere as the three used their makeshift melee weapons making Shadow Chie cry out with their actions kicking up smoke before she knocked them back.

Luckily their Persona's were able to make sure they land on their feet, still surrounding the Shadow but kept at a distance to where they wouldn't be getting into anyone's way.

The Shadow looked hurt but still capable of killing them if they made a wrong move.

As they did that, Teddie was panicking as the door was sealed shut trapping them in here so they couldn't get Chie out.

" _ **Lame, you think you can beat me?!**_ " Shadow Chie asked her hair moving violently. " _ **You don't have a clue what I'm capable of!**_ "

With that she focused as a green shield came across her with Teddie panic rising even further. "Oh this is beary bad! Wind won't affect her anymore!"

"What?! You serious?!" Yosuke asked in a bit of a panic.

' _ **We seem to be in a pinch,**_ ' Diaborosu muttered through the mental link with Kiyoshi. ' _ **What do you plan to do?**_ '

Kiyoshi had no chance to respond to his Persona when Shadow Chie called out Mazio and lighting erupted hitting all of them.

It barely fazed Narukami considering Izanagi was able to use it, Kiyoshi gritted his teeth in pain but was still standing. Yosuke however was knocked off his feet reminding everyone that he was weak to electricity.

Shadow Chie kept going by her hair shooting at Yosuke but Jiraiya took the hit-being impaled as Yosuke went flying back, out of it.

"Yosuke!" Chie cried out at seeing that.

Giving a grimace, Narukami jumped back and held his hand out. "Pixie!" He said switching Persona's. "Dia!"

Energy enveloped Yosuke and while he was still out of it, his injuries were healed.

"Zio!" He went back to fighting the other Shadows as more were popping up the longer the fight was going on, showing they needed to take Shadow Chie out before they were overwhelmed.

"Sukunda." Kiyoshi focused making Shadow Chie slower with his skills, Diaborosu slicing into her at every angle but she seemed to be resisting physical attacks.

" _ **Pathetic.**_ " Shadow Chie snapped, this time her hair shot at Kiyoshi batting the Persona away and wrapped around the teen lifting him off the ground, squeezing to where he was crying out as his bones felt like they were going to snap.

Thankfully Narukami quickly changed back to Izanagi and had the Persona slice through the hair, letting Kiyoshi fall but Diaborosu grabbed him out of the air.

Yosuke shook his head and picked himself up. "Dammit now I'm mad." He muttered. "Garu!"

While it wasn't as effective it still did some damage. " _ **Why are you protecting her?! She's nothing but a grubby bitch!**_ "

"She's not, Chie is one of my friends." Yosuke snapped at her.

The real Chie looked at Yosuke in surprise.

After all the times she shouted at him, mistreated him he still considers her a friend, if anything she thought deep down that Yosuke hated her.

" _ **Even after all the times she kicked you in the groin?**_ " Shadow Chie mocked with a laugh. " _ **Face it all you are is a punching bag for her.**_ "

"That's not true!" Chie snapped, unknowingly powering her up.

" _ **Oh really? Still not being honest with yourself?**_ "

"Cleave!" Diaborosu came in slicing into Shadow Chie, forcing her back while Kiyoshi looked ready to faint but was keeping a death grip on his melee weapon.

" _ **Ah Kiyoshi, so shy so much like Yukiko, I was planning on keeping a grip on you much like her.**_ " Shadow Chie taunted making Kiyoshi hesitate.

' _ **Don't believe a word, this is nothing but her emotions going haywire,**_ ' Diaborosu told him as the real Chie shouted at her to shut up again. ' _ **She's making her real self angry.**_ '

' _Of course._ ' Kiyoshi thought back to how his Shadow got stronger when he denied it and he was told it was the same for Yosuke's shadow.

That was when the green energy surrounding Shadow Chie cracked and Teddie noticed. "Her Wind Resistance is down, now's your chance!"

"Garu!" Jiraiya shot at Shadow Chie with a kick, pointing a finger at her making her cry out as she stumbled back.

" _ **No,**_ " Shadow Chie was trying to push herself up as the three surrounded her. " _ **You're nothing against me… Mazio!**_ "

They were unprepared when they were blasted back, this time both Kiyoshi and Yosuke were out of it, even Teddie was hit and he was rolling on the floor in a daze.

Narukami quickly switched to Pixie and used Dia on Kiyoshi as he was a bit worse off in terms of injuries but Chie's Shadow knocked him back with her whip, cutting his skin a bit.

" _ **Kneel before me!**_ " Shadow Chie declared.

"No." Chie muttered at seeing this.

This was all her fault, they were going to die because of her.

Kiyoshi shook his head in a daze but still conscious. "Anyone get the number on the truck that hit us?"

"This is going bearific." Teddie said in a daze.

"Both of you shut up." Yosuke muttered in pain.

Pushing himself up, Kiyoshi saw how Narukami was trying to keep himself up having to switch back to Izanagi with more shadows appearing.

Making his way to Yosuke he helped him up while the brunette shook his head. "Ow, I'm starting to hate electricity."

"This is getting us nowhere." Kiyoshi said looking from him to the shadows with Jiraiya and Diaborosu quickly joining the fray to give Izanagi a chance to catch his breath. "We need to end this now."

"I know but how?" Yosuke asked before his eyes lit up and he look towards Chie. "Can you keep the shadows off of me?"

Seeing what he was going to do, Kiyoshi gave a hesitant nod.

"Thanks, I'm counting on you." Yosuke said running towards Chie.

Steeling himself, Kiyoshi held his staff with Diaborosu getting in front of him.

He's not going to let anyone down here.

"No." Chie muttered before feeling a hand on her. "Get off-."

She was about to throw a kick but Yosuke called out. "Please not the groin."

"Y-Yosuke?" Chie froze as Yosuke grinned down at her.

"Come on, get up Chie." Yosuke said helping the girl up.

Shadow Chie quickly took notice of that. " _ **Aw isn't that cute? You think you can save her?**_ " She mocked about to go for them but Izanagi quickly grabbed her attention. " _ **Get off of me!**_ "

Before Chie could snap at her Shadow, Yosuke quickly took over. "You have to accept it," He said making her look at him in shock. "It's just like what Kiyoshi and I went through, we denied our Shadows at first too."

"But that isn't me-." Chie tried to say, but Yosuke cut her off.

"In a way it is. That is a small part of you, everyone has something like this and denying it isn't helping anyone," Yosuke said hoping to get through to her before all of this. "None of us think any less of you-urk!"

He was cut off as Shadow Chie managed to knock Kiyoshi and Diborosu back, her hair wrapping around Yosuke's throat lifting him into the air right in front of her.

" _ **Shut up, you're nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a boy,**_ " Shadow Chie said glaring daggers into Yosuke as he tried desperately to breathe. " _ **No one will care if I snap your neck.**_ "

"Let go of him." Chie shouted surprising her Shadow by kicking her, but that did nothing at all.

" _ **Oh risking your life for him?**_ " Shadow Chie mused with a smirk under the mask she was wearing. " _ **Or is it because you're still hiding everything-?**_ "

A Naginata from Izanagi sliced through her hair, making her shriek as Yosuke fell when Chie tried to catch him, the momentum knocking the two to the floor.

"Yosuke?" Chie asked in worry as Yosuke was out of it from the lack of air before he coughed, greedily sucking in air.

"Oh man I thought I was going to die." Yosuke muttered rubbing his sore throat. "Thanks Chie."

" _ **You'll pay for this.**_ " Shadow Chie looked enraged at having her hair sliced twice.

Narukami got between that shadow and his friends who were nearly unconscious, Yosuke and Kiyoshi pushing themselves up barely keeping it together and Chie looked at them, still unable to believe all of this.

But then she looked at her shadow seeing it moving more erratically out of fear its attacks barely missing the others as she shouted curses and it clicked.

So she got up and began to walk to her Shadow who froze as it felt something was wrong, the Lying Hableris and Calm Pesces disappearing.

"Chie!" Yosuke went to stop her but Narukami placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wha-?"

"Wait."

"Listen you're a part of me," Chie said taking a deep breath as her Shadow began to back up the closer she got. "You're a voice that I pretend doesn't exist. You're the pathetic part of me, but that's still a part of me isn't that right?"

" _ **Cut the shit,**_ " Shadow Chie snarled, her form beginning to change looking like static. " _ **Are you really going to acknowledge my existence and just accept me?!**_ "

As she began to lunge at the real Chie, Yosuke, Narukami and Kiyoshi quickly acted their Persona's taking the hit for her knocking them back as well. "Keep going, you're getting through to her." Narukami called out in pain, seeing Chie looking worried.

Seeing what they meant as those attacks seemed weaker, Chie continued. "Yes I will, because while I couldn't forgive you I know that you're me." She said staring the Shadow down. "And I'm you."

The Shadow stumbled and they took the chance.

"Izanagi!"

"Jiraiya!"

"Diaborosu!"

All three of them launched at the Shadow with their signature attacks, making her explode with energy as she looked just like Chie again, landing on the floor.

Chie walked up to her Shadow and held a hand out. "Come on, I think it's time we face things together for once." She said, holding her breath hoping against hope that this would work.

It did as the Shadow smiled, taking her hand as blue energy enveloped her, leaving a different form.

Now a form resembling a female Samurai armed with a double-bladed staff stood there, floating dressed in a yellow and black outfit with white boots and a tall white helmet, long black hair going down her back making it to her waist.

Then the figure became a card that was absorbed into Chie.

"Tomoe." Chie whispered her Persona's name, falling to her knees in exhaustion of her power awakening.

Hearing the other's approach her, Chie looked down. "I… Um, well it's true that a part of me feels that way… But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!" Chie said ashamed at having the others see all of that.

Yosuke smiled at her. "Like we didn't know that already." He reassured her.

Chie smiled before wincing. "Why am I so tired?" She muttered making the others concerned.

"It's just like what happened when we got our Personas." Kiyoshi said looking at them.

"And we're all exhausted, we should head back." Narukami said with Yosuke giving a nod.

"Yeah we need to regain our strength." Yosuke said as he could barely stand with what they went through.

Chie however shook her head, forcing herself to stand up, Teddie quickly running over to help. "I-I never said I needed a break! I… Can still keep going!"

"Don't overdo it." Teddie tried to say.

"Yeah it's not that we don't think you can but we have to save Amagi-San no matter what." Yosuke said, Kiyoshi giving a nod.

"And we won't be able to do that with how tired we are." He said knowing that if they had to go through something like that again today they will be in big trouble.

"He's right and now that you have your Persona you can fight with us," Yosuke said giving a grateful nod to Kiyoshi. "It'd be much better for all of us if you have your strength back like us. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she?!" Chie asked not wanting to leave her here. "I-I… If those were her true feelings we heard… Then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me. Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't I'd-."

"Well then you need to get your strength back, then you can tell her." Teddie interrupted looking concerned.

"And who knows how far she could be, with the Shadows we faced already they could be even stronger than the one we just fought," Kiyoshi said looking towards the door where they would continue onward. "With how tired we are, we'll be wiped out before we could blink."

"And then who would save Amagi-San?" Yosuke asked, Chie bowing her head in accepting that. "And besides she'll be safe until it gets foggy in our world so we still have time to be careful."

"T-The fog?" Chie asked not sure what he meant.

"Teddie said that when it gets foggy on our side it clears here," Narukami took the explanation there. "The next week is going to be sunny so we have the time to get our strength back and prepare."

Chie slowly gave a nod now seeing what they meant. "Yukiko," She muttered looking ahead. "We'll save you… I promise."

As they began to walk back to head downstairs towards the entrance, Chie stopped.

"I'm sorry about before," She said making them look back. "I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself."

"Let's go together next time," Narukami said earning a grateful smile from Chie while Yosuke messed with his hair.

"We're definitely going to save Amagi-San I promise that." Yosuke told her.

Kiyoshi nodded in agreement.

"Guys… Thank you."

* * *

The teens all sighed in relief as they exited the TV world-leaving their weapons to avoid the chance of being caught with them and were back in Junes, some color returning to Chie's face after exiting the oppressive atmosphere of the TV world before she noticed they all looked healed. "Wha-?"

"We think it's something to do with our Personas," Yosuke said before she could ask before yawning. "Aw man I'm wore out."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Chie said still looking down before noticing something else. "Wait what's up with the glasses?"

"You just now noticed?" Yosuke asked looking surprised. "Man how worried were you?"

"Teddie gave them to us, it lets us see through the fog, apparently it helps with the atmosphere in the place to." Kiyoshi said with a yawn.

"We'll have to ask Teddie to get you a pair next time we go in." Narukami said.

"Speaking of which you better not go in without me, got it?" Chie said with a glare, not wanting to stay behind if they do try it.

"Don't worry we won't, and we should all promise each other, no one should go in there alone it's too dangerous," Yosuke said looking between them. "If we don't work together we won't be able to solve this case… Or save Amagi-San, right?"

"Right." Narukami agreed quickly.

Kiyoshi gave a nod. "No problem."

There was no way in hell he was going in there by himself.

"Yeah I agree, I promise too." Chie said seeing the reason for it. "Let's save Yukiko."

"Alright, so from now on we'll try to go in there as much as we can after school… And that includes days off." Yosuke said thinking about something with his arms crossed before looking at Narukami. "Hey… Would you mind being our leader?"

That caught Narukami by surprised if his eyes widening a small fraction was anything to go by.

"Well you're the first one of us to get this power and you're way better in a fight than any of us," Yosuke began to explain his reasoning. "I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace for this investigation and we can follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana."

After a moment of thinking it over, Narukami gave a nod, agreeing to it. "Leave it to me."

Yosuke grinned. "I had a feeling you would say that, I mean I'm more of an advisor type, y'know?" He said to their new leader. "An ideas man, not an executive."

"I'm with Hanamura, if you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this." Chie said with a smile of her own as Narukami did instinctively lead the other two in that fight.

Kiyoshi gave a low chuckle. "We'll be counting on you Narukami-Sama." He said with his hands behind his head.

* * *

After everything that happened they decided to split up for the day-Yosuke being stopped to take a shift at Junes on the way out-something he looked ready to complain about but went with anyways leaving for Narukami to walk Chie home.

Kiyoshi however was in the Shopping District as he still had two hours of sunlight left and didn't want to head home just yet.

Besides a book he's been waiting for just recently came out so he was going to buy it.

Making it to the bookstore, Kiyoshi looked around for the book before his eye twitched at seeing it on the top shelf where he couldn't reach it.

Jumping to try and reach it, Kiyoshi frowned as he still couldn't reach the damn thing before he went to look for something to use as a stool only for an arm to grab the very book he was reaching for.

Turning towards the person who did that, Kiyoshi saw a pretty tall teenager with bleached blonde hair that was swept back with a crewcut, gray eyes-a scar above the left one wearing a black sweater with a crossbones design, black pants and he wore his blazer on his shoulders somewhat like a cape.

Kiyoshi however recognized him as Kanji Tatsumi a first year student who rumors point to being a part of a Biker Gang and who just about everyone in the school avoids contact with to keep out of trouble.

This was actually Kiyoshi's first time seeing him as the first year skipped quite a few classes of his this last year.

"You going to take it or what?" Kanji asked some annoyance as he was holding the book out for Kiyoshi.

It seemed he didn't like that Kiyoshi was staring a bit.

"Oh u-uh t-thanks." Kiyoshi said a bit lamely accepting the book while Kanji scoffed and left.

' _Right that was awkward._ ' Kiyoshi thought feeling down as he went to go pay.

He still stuttered around people even after everything that happened.

* * *

That night, Kiyoshi sat in his room before his phone buzzed.

 _ **{Chat Room}**_

Hanamura: Man today was crazy.

Kiyoshi: Is it weird I'm starting to find this normal?

Hanamura: Do you really want me to answer that? So Narukami, we good to go tomorrow or do you want to wait a bit?

Narukami: We'll go in tomorrow, I doubt Satonaka is going to wait long.

Hanamura: Yeah that's a good point-wait we should've invited her into this chat… Hang on, I have her number.

…

...

Satonaka: Hey guys.

Kiyoshi: Welcome to the chat.

Narukami: We're planning on heading in tomorrow if something comes up, do you think you'll be good to go?

Satonaka: Definitely, I'll be ready.

Hanamura: Just don't push yourself, if you're not up to it don't lie.

Kiyoshi: Yeah we're all in this together now… How many floors do you think this place has?

Narukami: We'll find out when we reach the top.

Satonaka: Got it, hey I'm heading to bed, I want to be up early tomorrow.

Hanamura: Yeah we have to deal with King Moron tomorrow after all.

 _ **{End Chat}**_

Kiyoshi placed his phone down and sat on his bed with a yawn.

Maybe some sleep will do him some good.

* * *

 _ **Monday April 18th, 2011**_

The morning began as it usually did with everyone speaking to each other, Kiyoshi was reading his new book while Narukami and Yosuke were speaking-both waiting for Chie to show up.

"I wonder how Chie's doing?" Yosuke spoke up a bit worried as he hasn't seen her on his way to school. "Too much stuff happened yesterday, I hope she's back to her usual self."

As if on cue the door opened showing Chie walking in and she walked towards the three guys, Kiyoshi placing a bookmark in his book to keep track of where he was. "Morning." Chie greeted.

"Did you sleep well?" Narukami asked showing some concern.

"Oh yep, I was out cold until this morning." Chie admitted her cheeks flushing a bit, embarrassed by that.

Then she looked down as if she was hesitant to speak but continued to do so after a moment.

"Um… Thanks for everything yesterday," She said surprising them. "It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were right there to see my hidden feelings and all."

"Don't sweat it." Yosuke said to reassure her.

"Yeah, it was the same for Hanamura-San and I," Kiyoshi said fixing his glasses. "So we understand."

"Oh yeah you both said it happened to you… So what was yours like?" Chie asked making them hesitate.

"Oh that's um…" Yosuke immediately looked at Narukami just realizing something. "Wait none of that happened with you right?"

"Wait really?" Chie asked looking between him and Narukami as that was said. "Nothing at all?"

"Could that be because you have nothing to hide?" Yosuke asked with Narukami shrugging.

"Nothing to hide? That might actually be possible." Kiyoshi muttered not thinking about that when he brought that topic up with Narukami the other day.

"I have to agree, you seem like a pretty open guy," Chie said a smile on her face. "There's a funny air about you… I dunno I guess that's what draws people to you or something like that."

"Want me to bare it all?" Narukami asked the question coming out of nowhere surprising everyone as Chie took a step back.

"Wha-Hey, what're you talking about?!"

Yosuke however had a panicked look. "Don't do it, you'll get arrested."

"And scar many people in the process." Kiyoshi said a bit freaked out.

Narukami's shoulders began to shake to show he was kidding and soon Chie and Yosuke began to chuckle with him-Kiyoshi slowly following.

Everyone around them stared a bit bewildered by the four for laughing at nothing, but right now they didn't care it was just nice to actually laugh after the last few days.

After getting that out of their system, Chie spoke looking a little better. "Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko," She said putting them on track. "I'm dead set on coming, so don't you dare leave me behind."

"Hey we promised didn't we?" Yosuke asked with his usual one eyed smile. "Besides you could go in at anytime so it's safer if we go together rather than try and go separately."

That was when the morning bell rang and Yosuke tensed. "Aw crap, I still haven't gone to the bathroom."

With that he ran off, Chie giving an exasperated sigh. "Oh Hanamura-Kun you never change." She said with a shake of her head.

Kiyoshi noted how she added the suffix but Narukami spoke. "Kun?" He asked with a slight smile.

The reaction was immediate as Chie realized what she did and quickly looked away. "Uh well I-... I mean I didn't mean anything by it." She said a bit lamely before seeing Narukami smirk. "Oh be quiet Narukami-Kun."

Kiyoshi shook his head as he went back to his book, a bit satisfied that nothing else was happening.

Besides it's not like they can do much until they get out of school.

So for now he was just going to do what he usually does.

* * *

Thankfully school let out quickly and the four teens stood in the Junes Electronics Department only to grimace.

There was quite a sale going on showing they wouldn't be able to get in there for today. "Are you serious right now?!" Chie demanded looking ready to kick someone.

"And this is why I said we should buy the TV." Kiyoshi deadpanned looking around.

Yosuke sighed and messed with his hair. "Nothing we can do about it, it would just draw attention if we tried to clear everyone out or just wait here."

"But how long do we have?" Chie asked not liking the idea of waiting.

"I checked the weather again this morning, we still have a week of sunshine." Kiyoshi said putting Chie's worries at ease for the moment.

"We should use this time to prepare for when we go in." Narukami said making Chie nod in agreement.

"I know a place where we can upgrade to better weapons and armor." Chie said earning some awkward stares from the guys. "W-What?"

"Why would you know about a place like that?" Yosuke asked unsure of how to approach that subject. "Wait I know it's because you watched one too many kung-fu movies."

"It's not like that at all." Chie said crossing her arms. "It's just a metalwork shop and I thought it would do well for what we had in mind."

"Wouldn't the owner ask too many questions if High School Students bought weapons in there?" Kiyoshi asked thinking that with their luck that would be the thing.

"Just say we're very dedicated cosplayers." Narukami said in a deadpan tone.

"Yeah how about we come up with a different excuse," Yosuke said giving a bland look. "But we'll need money, I mean I'm good because of my job but it's not enough to pay for weapons for everyone."

"So basically we all get a job to pitch in for our own weapons." Chie said seeing as how that made sense.

"I can do that." Narukami said as he saw a few job openings on a bulletin board further down the Shopping District. "Although it'll be awhile before we can go there."

"Didn't the Shadows drop stuff?" Kiyoshi couldn't help but ask as some of the shadows they defeated did drop stuff, but Yosuke scoffed.

"Oh come on who in their right minds would buy a Big Incisor or Idea Paper?" Yosuke asked shaking his head due to how Teddie explained it all.

"At least they dropped money." Narukami spoke making them pause and look at him.

"... They did?" Kiyoshi asked not seeing that.

"You didn't notice? I grabbed some but left a bit for you guys." Narukami said sounding surprised as Yosuke and Kiyoshi exchanged glances wondering how they missed that.

"Think we can use that world to get money so we don't get a job?" Kiyoshi asked curiously with Yosuke giving a shrug.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Alright ending it here, next chapter will be the final part of the Amagi Castle Arc and will show the fight against Yukiko's shadow, as you can guess some of the characters will make cameos until they're introduced like Kanji did in this chapter and I had a small cameo of Naoto in a past chapter for those of you who caught it.**_

 _ **But now Chie has her Persona-I was actually amazed I managed to make the fight scene last for so long, it was pretty fun to type and I know they'll last longer with each new team member they get because I'll have to work in all of them somehow.**_

 _ **Anyways Kiyoshi is still his shy stuttering self but now it's only when talking to people who isn't a part of the group, it hasn't even been a week yet so cut him some slack.**_

 _ **So I'll answer some reviews and get this chapter posted.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Thanks for leaving a review-I was wondering if people actually enjoyed this story or not due to the lack of responses for the chapters so it's nice to finally have one. As for the romance option there's plenty of choices-I bet you can already tell one of the pairings so far as I kind of made it obvious in this chapter but as for Kiyoshi I haven't decided if I was going to pair him up with anyone or not yet.**_


	7. Amagi Castle Finale

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 07: Amagi Castle Finale**_

 _ **Tuesday April 19th, 2011**_

Kiyoshi sighed as he was walking through the Practice Building.

Their plans to rescue Yukiko was once more put on hold as Chie's parents needed her help with something and she couldn't get out of it-and Kiyoshi figured from how she was she definitely tried to get out of it, along with the sign ups for sports were beginning and Narukami decided to try the Basketball team, signing Yosuke up for Soccer and Kiyoshi for Track-after consulting them of course.

While Kiyoshi still thought that sports were a bit of a waste of time he knew that he needed to get his stamina up a bit more if he wanted to be of any use in the TV world and running was a good way to do that.

Besides he'd rather be on Track than Soccer given the reputation he heard about them being assholes, although he did feel sorry for Yosuke.

If he remembered correctly, the Basketball team had the Gym while the Soccer Team had the grass field, there's another field nearby for the Track team so that was where Kiyoshi was going to meet them.

Luckily Yosuke caught them all before school let out and said the electronics sale was done with and tomorrow it should be empty enough for them to go through the TV to get to Yukiko.

' _Still what if we're wrong about the time limit?_ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think as he looked down while walking. ' _Will she really be safe until the fog? Or will we have a third body in this murder case hanging from somewhere?_ '

Then there was the methods the Murderer was using, if this guy can throw people into the TV, chances are they have a Persona which meant they would be in for a fight for their lives if they manage to catch this guy.

' _Come on don't be a coward._ ' Kiyoshi chided himself, still trying to be braver than he actually was. ' _Even if this guy does have a Persona it'll be us against the murderer and we outnumber them-assuming they're alone-along with Narukami's ability to change Persona's we can do this._ '

Making it to the track field, Kiyoshi hesitated at seeing a few people before someone noticed him.

"Hey you here to try out for the team?" A teen approached him with half-shaved medium length brown hair and green eyes, wearing a green shirt and grey sweatpants.

Instead of answering, Kiyoshi gave a nod eliciting a smile from the teen.

"Great, welcome to the team we're still in the process of getting this setup so we don't have too many people yet," The teen said holding out a hand that Kiyoshi accepted for a handshake after a second's hesitation. "I'm Nanashi Shimono."

"Hisoka Kiyoshi." Kiyoshi forced himself to say recognizing the guy as a third-year student.

"Nice to meet you," Nanashi said in a friendly tone. "Have you ever tried Track before?"

Kiyoshi shook his head.

"Ah," Nanashi looked a bit put off but he quickly hid it. "Well no worries I'm certain you'll catch up in no time, come on let's introduce you to the team."

Thankfully they were all nice-if a bit uninterested in Kiyoshi and practice was over after an hour considering this team was just starting up, leaving Nanashi alone with Kiyoshi, the latter panting as they did start with a few runs and he was easily left in the dust by the more experienced runners.

"Hey why did you join?" Nanashi asked curiously as he did keep an eye on everyone there and noticed pretty easily that Kiyoshi was out of place during the whole practice.

Kiyoshi gave a start before looking down, lightly kicking the dirt. "Uh well I'm trying to improve myself… I guess." He muttered as even though he's exhausted he hoped this would help in the long run.

Nanashi looked at him quietly before giving a nod. "I guess I can understand that, everyone needs something to do that." He said quietly. "It's just that… You know what, nevermind."

Kiyoshi looked at Nanashi curiously as the teen grinned.

"Well practice is on Tuesdays and Thursdays so be sure to show up whenever you can, if you have other responsibilities we understand," Nanashi told the reserved teen. "Just be aware if you do show up we'll be putting you through the wringer."

Despite himself Kiyoshi smiled a bit. "I'll keep that in mind Nanashi-Senpai."

Maybe going to Track will do more than he thought it would.

"Nanashi!" They both turned to see a girl waiting nearby, wearing the female Yasogami High Uniform. "Practice done yet?"

"Give me a sec Asahi," Nanashi called back, turning to Kiyoshi. "Careful heading home alright?"

Knowing he was talking about the murders, Kiyoshi gave a nod.

* * *

Instead of heading home however, Kiyoshi ended up stopping at Aiya's for a meal, it's been a long time since he last ate there so it shouldn't exactly be a problem.

Much to his surprise however he saw Chie there looking pretty sullen, a bowl of meat in front of her but she was absently poking it instead of eating which was a strange sight from what he knew of her.

So he sat next to her as there was a seat open. "Hey Satonaka-San."

"Kiyoshi-Kun?" Chie looked surprised to see him as he gave his order a bit surprised at the suffix for him but figured it was because he, Narukami and Hanamura saved her. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting dinner, you?" Kiyoshi looked at her curiously.

"I just needed to get away from my parents." Chie admitted with a sigh. "I get that they're worried about me after Yukiko but it gets too much after a bit."

Kiyoshi frowned before it clicked.

Of course, with Yukiko disappearing after the first two murders it's understandable that they would keep a closer eye on their daughter by 'asking' for her help, that does explain why they were persistent.

"I mean I know they mean well but we need to save Yukiko as quickly as possible and we were unable to do that today," Chie said looking angry. "Right now I wish they didn't care as much."

"Must be nice."

"Hm?" Chie looked at Kiyoshi her anger disappearing. "What do you mean by that?"

Kiyoshi froze, unaware that he spoke out loud.

This was one conversation he never wanted to have.

"Nothing, just a little tired, don't worry Satonaka-San we'll get Amagi-San out of there you're not alone in doing this," Kiyoshi said with a forced smile. "You have Narukami-Sama and Hanamura-San helping out too."

"Yeah I suppose you're right," Chie said giving a friendly smile before realizing something. "Wait, you left yourself out."

"Did I?" Kiyoshi adopted a confused expression.

Truth be told he didn't think he helped that much compared to them, so maybe that's why he left himself out in that?

Chie looked a little better as she began to eat.

"Hey Kiyoshi-Kun?"

"Hm?" Kiyoshi looked at her right as his order arrived.

"Thanks, I feel better after talking a bit, I guess I just needed to do that with someone who knew what was going on." Chie said as while she could've spoken with Yosuke or Narukami she didn't because they both had their own set of problems at the moment.

Kiyoshi lightly scratched his cheek as he began to eat.

He was happy to help.

* * *

 ** _ **Wednesday April 20th, 2011**_**

School let out pretty quickly and soon all four of them were inside of the TV world, this time using their Persona's to do a landing as none of them wanted to end up in a pile.

"Man I can't believe it took us this long to think about that." Yosuke commented as Jiraiya put him down. "Thanks."

Jiraiya just placed a hand behind his head, happy to be summoned even if it was for something like that.

Izanagi just watched all of them, keeping a hand on his naginata in case a Shadow attacked with Tomoe holding her lance.

Diaborosu just scoffed and looked away, disinterest on his face.

"Man it's still way too foggy here," Chie muttered trying to see through it. "How could you guys see where you were going?"

"Oh that's right you still don't have the glasses." Yosuke realized making Chie look at them in surprise.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Chie muttered only for Teddie to pop up out of nowhere between them, to make them all jump. "Dammit don't do that!"

"Where'd you come from?!" Yosuke asked placing a hand on his chest.

"I was waiting for you guys to come back, what took so long?" Teddie asked as he didn't think they would take their time like that.

"We had trouble coming in," Narukami explained to the bear. "Do you have another pair of glasses by any chance?"

"Yup, made them specifically for Chie-Chan." Teddie said pulling out a pair of yellow glasses.

Chie quirked a brow and put them on, giving a start. "Whoa."

"Amazing isn't it?" Kiyoshi asked with a grin, fixing his shades. "Really helps a lot."

"They're about the only thing Teddie is useful for." Yosuke said making Teddie glare as he stomped his foot.

"How beary rude!" Teddie shouted at him. "Do you know how hard it is to make those? The materials aren't exactly easy to get."

"Geez, can't take a joke." Yosuke muttered, looking to Narukami. "So you ready?"

Narukami gave a nod and pretty soon they were in front of the castle.

"How many floors do you think this place has?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter, we're going to blow through all of them." Chie said looking very determined.

Yosuke grinned and twirled his fake daggers, nearly dropping them in the progress. "Well then what are we waiting for?"

Narukami gave a small smirk before they entered the castle once more.

* * *

"Persona!" Chie shouted summoning Tomoe, literally taking on every shadow they came across.

Much to their annoyance the whole damn floor seemed to have changed and they spent what seemed to feel like hours on it trying to find the stairs, but they managed to get some fighting experience against the Shadows.

"Satonaka slow down before you wear yourself out!" Yosuke called out as they began running.

"I'm fine, Yukiko's been waiting long enough." Chie said not planning on leaving this time.

"Wow, Chie-Chan is fired up!" Teddie said sounding impressed.

"It's because she and Amagi-San have been friends for years." Narukami said remembering what Chie told him the other day after she awakened her Persona.

Including showing him the picture of the dog that sparked the beginning of their friendship.

Kiyoshi said nothing, trying to keep from showing exhaustion.

He felt like he was doing better since the first time they entered the castle, mostly because he's been saving up his Persona's attacks, but still pitching in for the fight.

Truth be told he was trying to save as much energy as he can for when they do find Yukiko.

But he paused and looked back, a sound catching his attention.

"Kiyoshi?" Narukami noticed the teen stop making the others look back.

"Dude you alright?" Yosuke called.

"I thought… Never mind." Kiyoshi muttered shaking his head.

He could've sworn he heard the sound of chains rattling.

"Hey I found the stairs." Chie said catching their attention as they hurried after her.

If they stayed a second longer they would've seen a large shadow pass by the hallway adjacent to where they were before it disappeared.

"Finally made it." Yosuke said with them now being on the floor that they fought Chie's shadow in.

Teddie however froze. "I sense someone in that room."

That made them wary but Chie decided to hell with it and had Tomoe literally kick down the door. "You never do things halfway do you?" Yosuke dryly commented as they ran in..

Chie however didn't answer as she saw Yukiko standing in the middle of the room with her back to them. "Yukiko!" She called out, running towards her.

Kiyoshi was a bit on edge because Yukiko was wearing a pink dress and hasn't said a single word the closer they got.

Yosuke and Narukami were just as concerned as something seemed wrong. "Amagi-San?" Narukami asked hesitantly, gripping the Imitation Katana just in case.

"Yukiko?" Chie took a step forward and that's when a spotlight shined out of nowhere on Yukiko making them all back up in surprise. "Huh?!"

" _ **Ahahahahaha.**_ " 'Yukiko' began to laugh and the distortion in her voice tipped them all off.

"Oh great it's her Shadow." Kiyoshi said about ready to use his Persona.

'Yukiko' turned her yellow eyes showing as she eyed all five of them. " _ **Oh my! Special Guests? I wonder how they'll all play into this?**_ " 'Yukiko' mused in enjoyment. " _ **Things are really heating up.**_ "

"Uh is she checking us out?" Yosuke couldn't help but ask as the shadows eyes seemed to roam all of them and while normally he might've enjoyed that type of attention, now it was creeping him out.

Kiyoshi took a step back, not sure how to take that, a bit red in the face.

" _ **Okie-dokie! I'm going to hunt for my Prince Charming! Ohhh, where could he be?**_ " Shadow Yukiko made a show of looking around with a disappointed pout. " _ **This place is huge! It's sooo exciting, but makes it hard to find him! Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide and seek in the fog! Ready or not here I come!**_ "

"Where's the real Yukiko?!" Chie snapped not wanting to play any games.

" _ **Oh Chie-Chan you really don't get it do you?**_ " Yukiko asked coyly batting her eyelashes at her friend. " _ **I am Yukiko and Yukiko is me, didn't you get that from your real self?**_ "

"You know what she meant." Yosuke said seeing Chie a bit affected by that.

" _ **Maybe I do, but let's go further in so we can find out shall we?**_ " Yukiko offered and just like that a colorful title card appeared above her, catching everyone off guard.

' _ **Princess Yukiko's Hunt For Her Prince Charming**_ '

Much to their surprise a round of applause followed soon after that title appeared.

"Wh-What the hell is this?!" Yosuke asked unsure of how to react.

"I am so confused," Kiyoshi said a bit bewildered. "This never happened before."

"Wait of course," Yosuke snapped his fingers in realization. "We're in the TV so this must be what anyone who is watching is seeing."

Then his eyes widened.

"Crap, does that mean people can see us?"

Narukami really didn't want to answer that as he would be in huge trouble if his Uncle saw this.

As if to answer them however, voices could be heard. "The Shadows are getting agitated." Teddie said nervously.

" _ **Well, I'm off again,**_ " Yukiko said with a laugh. " _ **Heehee! You better be waiting with bells on, my dear prince.**_ "

With that she ran off. "Hey wait!" Chie called out but the Shadow disappeared into thin air. "Ugh that's so cheap."

"That was weird," Kiyoshi couldn't help but say. "I mean our experiences in here has been weird so far but that just added to it."

"It's just like what happened to us isn't it?" Yosuke asked getting the picture.

"No, not just like that, something else is going on." Narukami said with certainty as something was off.

"Sensei is right, I think the real Yukiko wants to show us something, she wouldn't get excited over nothing." Teddie said sniffing the air. "It's hard to explain but she has a very strong connection to this castle."

"So basically we're witnessing her very own Fairytale?" Kiyoshi summed up.

"Right-er what's a Fairytale?"

"This isn't a Fairytale, this is a nightmare." Chie said her concern returning as she took off.

"Hey! Didn't we say not to do that?!" Yosuke called out running after her, Narukami and Teddie quickly following.

Kiyoshi however stayed looking down in thought.

A Fairytale… Castle… Prince.

Whatever happens next he really hope it doesn't end like a Grimm Fairytale.

"Hisoka!" Teddie called back getting Kiyoshi's attention. "Wow you can 'bearly' keep up huh?"

"Stop with the puns." Kiyoshi muttered running after them.

* * *

Nothing really happened until they made it to the fifth floor where a red fog seemed to cover it. "What is this?" Yosuke asked in confusion.

"Careful, something is wrong here." Teddie said sniffing the air. "But I can smell that girl… Along with something else."

"So she's here?" Chie asked in a hopeful expression.

"Or it's her shadow." Kiyoshi muttered not being too optimistic about this.

Narukami gave a nod. "We need to be cautious." He warned as they began walking only for a flash of light to nearly blind them before they were on a different part of the floor.

"D-Did we teleport?" Yosuke asked in complete confusion before they heard the sound of someone retching.

Turning they saw Kiyoshi doubled over, vomiting. "Let's not do that again," He muttered a little pale as Diaborosu lightly patted his back looking awkward. "It felt like someone did the macarena inside my stomach."

"What caused it though?" Narukami muttered as they were definitely on a different part of the floor. "Come on."

They barely took a few more steps to the door nearby when it happened again.

"Okay I might just join Kiyoshi-San in a minute." Yosuke sounded queasy while Kiyoshi was doubled over again.

Narukami frowned and walked in the opposite direction before nodding. "There we were." He said having the others hesitantly approach to see down the hallway was the vomit that Kiyoshi let out.

"You know some people usually put X's on a tree or wall." Yosuke said in a light teasing tone.

Kiyoshi just glared as they walked to the door, this time not teleporting but they were annoyed to find it locked. "Oh I see, we have to walk backwards to get the the door." Teddie said getting it. "Beary clever."

A few minutes later they managed to make it to a door that wasn't locked when Teddie sniffed the air.

"I sense someone behind this door," He said sniffing closer. "It's that Yukiko girl's scent."

That was all they needed to hear to open the door only to be faced with Yukiko's Shadow followed by a gigantic shadow that was big in size and height dressed up like a knight riding a horse with a purple helmet and a lance.

"... I think I need a new pair of pants." Kiyoshi said as while this wasn't as big as Yosuke's Shadow or terrifying as his, it was still nerve-wrecking.

" _ **My Prince wouldn't lose to a guard such as this right?**_ " Shadow Yukiko asked, fluttering her eyes at them. " _ **Care to prove to me your strength against my Avenger Knight?**_ "

"I-I never sensed a Shadow this strong before," Teddie said in a fit of panic. "Look out, it's attacking!"

Everyone scattered as the Avenger Knight stabbed his lance in the spot where they were, the four of them surrounding the Knight at a reasonable distance to ensure they don't get in each other's way but they were close enough to cover each other in case they needed to showing how used to fighting they were getting. Kiyoshi taking care to dropping his backpack near Teddie like he did with the other fights.

"Izanagi!" Narukami focused as his main Persona appeared blasting lightning at the Avenger Knight thinking that with the armor it would be weak to electricity by conducting it.

But the Avenger Knight shrugged it off while Teddie was staying out of the way, trying to make himself as small as possible. "It's not weak to electricity!"

"Then let's try wind," Yosuke twirled his daggers. "Jiraiya!"

Wind blasted the Avenger Knight back but it pushed through it, rushing at him but Jiraiya quickly used its scarf to wrap around Yosuke pulling him away, leaving for Chie to jump in.

"Tomoe!" Chie said using her newly learned Bufu skill which was ice as it hit the knight covering it with a light frost but it was still going strong.

"If lightning, wind and ice won't work let's try darkness," Kiyoshi said gripping his staff. "Diaborosu!"

Much to his shock it just barreled through Eiha. "Careful it's immune to Curse Attacks!"

' _So I'm useless?_ ' Kiyoshi thought as his element wouldn't work in this fight.

"Keep your distance and keep using your elemental attacks," Narukami ordered as Izanagi used Cleave to get the Avenger Knight after him. "Kiyoshi-San you stay back and use Sukunda to slow it down."

Giving a nod, Kiyoshi focused. "Sukunda!" He said with the Avenger Knight glowing and his movements becoming sluggish, taking another hit of the three elements that do affect him.

"Sukukaja!" Yosuke quickly focused allowing for the energy he was using to cover himself before doing the same to the others allowing for them to move faster.

The Avenger Knight focused as it glowed after being assaulted by these attacks. "Oh no, he increased his strength if he hits it's really going to hurt!"

That was all the warning they got when a Skewer shot forward hitting Diaborosu who was the nearest of them and the force sent Kiyoshi flying back in major pain.

It seemed that it picked him as the weak link considering how useless his skills were against it.

"Kiyoshi!" Yosuke called out before focusing. "Dia!"

Energy surrounded Kiyoshi who grimaced in pain while Chie glared at the Avenger Knight for doing that to one of her friends as she ran forward, kicking it. "Skull Cracker!"

That was all Tomoe needed to hear to slam the double-bladed staff into the Avenger Knight making it glow purple for some odd reason.

Teddie cheered. "It's confused, now it'll have trouble attacking!"

Pushing himself up, Kiyoshi got ready. "Cleave!" As Diaborosu slashed at the Avenger Knight, he looked at Narukami. "You have a plan Narukami-Sama?"

Narukami frowned before realizing they had one element they haven't used and focused. "Change, Ukobach!"

Izanagi was replaced by one of Narukami's newer Persona's which was a green skinned devil-like creature with a flaming spoon.

"Agi!" Ukobach lunged into the air with a laugh launching a fireball at the Avenger Knight knocking it off its feet as it crashed into the ground.

"Everyone hit it with everything you have." Narukami ordered seeing that they found its weakness.

"Got it partner." Yosuke said with them doing their 'all-out attack' as they called it to where they laid into the Shadow with everything they had as it dissipated into smoke showing they won. "Now that's how you do it."

Kiyoshi let out a sigh of relief with them finishing this fight showing that they were getting stronger because this one was tougher than Chie's Shadow and they still had plenty of energy to keep going.

"Hey it dropped something." Teddie pointed out getting their attention as they saw a glass key where the Avenger Knight was.

Narukami just grabbed it and looked at the others. "Come on, Amagi-San is waiting."

* * *

Elsewhere in the castle, the real Yukiko was sprawled out on the floor unconscious in her Kimono before she groaned and pushed herself up, feeling her body aching. Rubbing her eyes as her head felt a little fuzzy, the last thing Yukiko remembered was being at the inn, but on seeing her surroundings being what looked to be a throne room along with a large carpet made her tense. "H-Hello?" She asked her voice echoing as her heart began to beat fast in fear. "I-Is someone there?"

She needed to get out of here but where was here?

 _Clang!_

The loud sound of metal hitting the ground made Yukiko jump and spin around, seeing a golden bird cage rolling towards her and she blinked, recognizing it. "Isn't this-?" She approached it, her mind going back to the one time she found a baby bird all by itself near a tree in the park.

She couldn't leave it, so she became the owner of the bird, taking care of it in her room at the Amagi Inn despite her parents early misgivings about having a pet.

It was tough to get them to let her take care of the bird, but Yukiko viewed it as worthwhile.

Because the bird was just like her. Something she could relate to.

Because it couldn't live anywhere but the Amagi Inn, inside of the cage. Just like how the inn was her very own cage that she could never leave.

… At least that's what she thought before she came home one day to see that she didn't lock the cage door and the bird flew out the window while she was at school.

The bird flew away on its own power while she was stuck in her cage.

Yukiko didn't even realize she was crying at the memory until a teardrop fell, hitting the ground. ' _Why couldn't I have that courage?_ ' She thought solemnly. ' _To leave of my own power?_ '

Taking a moment to compose herself, Yukiko pushed herself up and looking around the room trying to remember how she got there.

All she remembered was helping out at the Inn before the doorbell rang, the next thing she knew she was here. But how would that make any sense? Surely someone would've seen her get taken due to how busy the Inn usually was.

" _ **Oh… It's her.**_ "A voice muttered darkly, echoing around the room.

Yukiko's eyes widened at recognizing the voice. "No." She muttered

" _ **The Amagi Girl.**_ "

" _ **Miss Perfect.**_ "

"Stop it." Yukiko gripped her head not wanting to hear this.

" _ **Good grades with the looks too?**_ "

" _ **How does she do it?**_ "

" _ **She probably does 'extra credit'.**_ "

"No." Yukiko looked down remembering how horrified she was when she overheard that. "T-That's a lie."

She would never debase herself like that, she would rather fail than do anything like that.

" _ **Whoa, really?**_ "

The voices then changed. " _ **Hey you going to try the Amagi Challenge?**_ "

That one made Yukiko tense.

The Amagi Challenge, now that one she hated with a passion, people thinking she can't hear them as they spoke about it, it was rumored that whoever dated her would 'win' it but that was just the polite way of saying it.

What the Amagi Challenge really was however was to get in her pants as people would say it and it was one of the reasons she never hung out with anyone but Chie, because she was the only one to actually like her for her.

" _ **Of course, she's good-looking, give me an hour tops-.**_ "

"Shut up!" Yukiko finally shouted her eyes flashing yellow when she did that, the voices finally quieting down while she was shaking but another voice spoke up making her freeze.

" _ **My, my that hit a sore spot didn't it?**_ " Yukiko felt her breath hitch as that sounded like her voice, only there was something wrong with it.

Slowly Yukiko turned to see herself standing right next to the throne wearing a pink dress while she had a dark look with yellow eyes.

" _ **What's the matter Amagi?**_ " Shadow Yukiko asked with a smirk. " _ **Does the truth hurt?**_ "

* * *

Thankfully the next few floors were rather short and easy compared to the fifth floor, but the enemies were definitely a lot stronger. Good news was that Narukami got quite a few other Persona's to add to his repertoire.

But they pushed on and before long they made it to the ninth floor, which was confirmed to be the last one, the five of them panting in exhaustion.

"Oh man I haven't been this exhausted before," Yosuke said panting, having to sit down while Kiyoshi was attempting to stop Chie from just kicking down the door. "Satonaka at least let me catch my breath before we fight again."

"Hanamura-San is right Satonaka-San, we won't last long if we're exhausted, just rest for a few minutes before we go in there." Kiyoshi said placing himself between her and the door-just now realizing that was a bad move, especially since Tomoe was out and glaring at him showing how Chie took that idea.

Diaborosu however kept his glare on Tomoe as if daring her to try something which kept Kiyoshi from pissing himself, although he was about ready to cover his manhood just in case.

"Five minutes." Narukami said with Chie hesitating before giving a nod.

They made him the leader and she'll follow that order.

So reluctantly she sat down, all of them having their Persona's out in case something attacked them.

Seeing Chie look at the door however, Narukami spoke up. "Relax, we'll get her out, we just need a bit to catch our breath." He said with a small smile.

"I get that, it's just we're so close." Chie said as they pulled no punches after getting delayed the last two days and obliterated every Shadow in their way this time.

Looking back at it now, no wonder they were so exhausted as they were tired after facing her shadow while only getting through one floor.

While they spoke, Kiyoshi looked through the backpack he brought with him seeing the Bento Boxes still in good condition due to him putting them down near Teddie. He figured that when they rescued Yukiko they would need to eat and he even had one for Yukiko made because the girl has been in here for a couple of days, no doubt she was starving.

Then again Teddie explained a lot about what was different in this world and he hasn't tried eating anything, plus whenever they were in here none of them were hungry. So maybe something about this world staved off hunger?

Still reaching past them, he pulled out some water bottles and passed them around so they could at least drink something.

"Nice thinking Kiyoshi-San." Yosuke said with a grateful look as Kiyoshi handed him one, doing the same to Narukami and Chie, Teddie looking interested in the drink, never seeing it before.

Kiyoshi smiled happy that he thought ahead to bringing this before frowning. "Hey once we get Amagi-San out of here how exactly are we going to explain just finding her?" He asked curiously.

They never did discuss that.

"We could say we just found her by the flood plains." Yosuke said with a shrug. "It's not like they can say we were lying."

"And the cameras that would catch us in Junes?" Kiyoshi asked as while there weren't any in the Electronics Aisle, they still had the rest of the store to deal with.

"Pft, that's easy, you see my parents don't have anyone watching them-it's too small a town for anyone to really get by with stealing anything, by the end of the week they have me check them anyways," Yosuke revealed with a grin, surprising them. "So I can easily erase that footage."

"Nice job." Narukami said giving a slight smirk at that potential headache being out of the way.

"Ooh… What's a Junes?" Teddie asked curiously, never having the whole store thing explained to him, all he knew was that the entrance they use to this world was there.

"It's a store that Yosuke's family owns."

"... So Yosuke is a prince?" Teddie asked tilting his head considering they were in a castle.

Yosuke tensed at that, being called the prince of Junes before as he gave a slight glare. "No I'm not a prince." He said with a frown.

The conversation died down from there as they just rested before they stood up after checking the time. Seeing that their five minutes were up, everyone else got ready with Chie heading for the door, but she hesitated.

Just what would they see when they go in there, would Yukiko be forced to face herself? Would they be able to save her?

There were so many what-if's that she was starting to doubt herself before feeling a hand on her shoulder. "Come on Satonaka-San," Yosuke said with his usual one eyed smile. "We have your back."

"We came this far." Narukami agreed tightening his grip on his katana while Kiyoshi fixed his glasses.

"Let's get Amagi-San out of here."

Chie smiled at them. "Guys… Thanks."

With that said Tomoe kicked down the door.

"... That's one way of kicking things off." Kiyoshi said.

"Did you just tell a pun?" Yosuke asked as they ran in but that question was stopped when they saw both Yukiko and the Shadow.

"Yukiko!" Chie called out in relief at them finding the real one.

"Shit." Yosuke on the other hand cursed at seeing the Shadow. "Two of her."

" _ **Oh? Oooooh, what's this?**_ " Shadow Yukiko asked at seeing the group before giggling. " _ **Four princes are here to see me?! My, my! Are you the surprise guests who came in late?**_ "

"Surprise guests?" Kiyoshi asked exchanging a look with Yosuke who looked just as confused while Teddie just shrugged.

Chie glared at the shadow while Narukami gripped his Katana in case they needed to defend Yukiko.

" _ **My, it's getting crowded here,**_ " Shadow Yukiko said walking forward seductively. " _ **Why don't you and I go somewhere else?**_ "

Yosuke had to shake his head to focus while Kiyoshi felt his face go beat red at the implications but chided himself as he didn't want those thoughts in his head. His lack of social contact was really rearing itself right now.

" _ **A land far, far away, where no one knows me,**_ " Shadow Yukiko said in a sultry tone. " _ **If you're my Prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon… Pretty please?**_ "

Teddie looked completely entranced. "Oooh. Is this 'scoring a hot stud'?!" He asked looking excited now getting it.

Kiyoshi just gave Teddie a look of disbelief before deciding he wasn't even going to bother while Chie realized something. "Four princes? Wait, does that include me too?"

"Duh! The fourth one's got to be me." Teddie said earning a deadpanned look from Yosuke.

"Yeah somehow I don't think so."

"I'm with Hanamura-San on this one Ted, you being the 'prince' requires Amagi-San to know who you are." Kiyoshi replied before blinking. ' _Wait then why would I be included?_ '

Was it because they only spoke in passing at one point-or really apologized to one another for bumping into each other and that was it.

Teddie just poked the ground dejectedly. "I'm just saying it could be."

Shadow Yukiko gave a chuckle at their conversation. " _ **Chie… Yes, she's my Prince,**_ " She said with a smile. " _ **She always leads the way. Chie would make a magnificent prince… Or at least she was.**_ "

"W-Was?" Chie asked hearing the tone turn bitter while the real Yukiko began to shake.

"Uh can we just get Amagi-San out of here?" Kiyoshi asked not wanting to go through another fight like they did with Hanmura, Satonaka and him.

"He's right, come on." Narukami said the five of them rushing to get to Yukiko only for the chandelier to fall from the ceiling cutting them off as a few shadows came out of the ground making them tense getting ready to defend themselves.

"Oh man." Yosuke said gripping his fake daggers tightly while Teddie began to shake and get out of the range of fire.

" _ **When it comes down to it, Chie's not good enough,**_ " Shadow Yukiko said as if she didn't just cut them off from the real Yukiko. " _ **She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!**_ "

' _Take her away? Save her?_ ' Kiyoshi felt his mind working at a high speed trying to process what he was hearing before remembering how Yukiko always looked down when the Amagi Inn was mentioned when Chie tried to get her to hang out with them before this whole thing happened before it clicked.

"She's caged." Kiyoshi didn't even realize he spoke aloud as everyone turned towards him. "That's what her shadow's saying, she's trapped by expectations."

"Y-Yukiko." Chie whispered as she never said anything about this while Narukami looked closer at the cage behind the real Yukiko now seeing what Kiyoshi said.

Shadow Yukiko however smiled a bit creepily. " _ **Oh you're a smart one, maybe you're the prince?**_ "

That made Kiyoshi take a step back unsure of how to take that as his face heated up.

"Stop." The real Yukiko pleaded not wanting to hear anymore of this.

Shadow Yukiko however felt a surge of energy and smirked knowing it wouldn't take much more. " _ **Historic inn? Manager training?!**_ " She scoffed in contempt. " _ **I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's been decided for me from when I live to when I die.**_ "

The Shadows began to act more violently but they haven't attacked as of yet as if waiting for the opportunity.

… They were waiting for Yukiko to deny her Shadow.

Yosuke realized that and quickly focused. "Jiraiya!" He shouted summoning his Persona to grab Yukiko and get out of there, the sight catching the real Yukiko's attention as she didn't expect that but the Chandelier slammed into Jiraiya and pinned him to the wall making Yosuke cry out as it felt like heavy weights were pinning him down making it hard to breathe as he clutched his chest.

That made Narukami and Chie summon Izanagi and Tomoe respectively to try and get the Chandelier off of Jiraiya leaving for Kiyoshi to try his luck. "Come forth, Diaborosu!"

His Persona went to get Yukiko who froze at seeing his 'demonic' looking Persona but what happened next both stunned and stupefied Kiyoshi. The red carpet shot off the ground and snagged Diaborosu by the tail before pulling and sending him slamming into the floor the action making Kiyoshi cry out as he felt the air leave his lungs at that, his legs shaking from the force before falling to one knee as the same Carpet did the same to Tomoe and Teddie.

The real fight hasn't even started yet and he was already shaking.

" _ **I'm so sick of it!**_ " Shadow Yukiko shouted ignoring the interruptions. " _ **To hell with it all!**_ "

"That's -urk-," Yukiko pushed herself up nearly falling over as her body was feeling pretty heavy combined with the pounding of her head making it almost unbearable to stay awake. "That's not true."

" _ **I just want to go somewhere far away,**_ " Shadow Yukiko continued, her tone now taking on a mocking air to it. " _ **Anywhere but here. Someone, please take me away… I can't leave on my own. I'm completely useless.**_ "

Diaborosu managed to claw his way out of the carpet and shot forward only for the candles on the Chandelier to erupt into flames blasting wax that coated him, Jiraiya and Izanagi, the wax even landing near Narukami, Yosuke, Chie and Kiyoshi making them cry out from the heat of this, Chie looking worse as they discovered that fire was her Persona's main weakness.

"Stop." Yukiko pleaded seeing them getting hurt and wanting this to end.

But the Shadow was just getting started. " _ **I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave… So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come!**_ " Shadow Yukiko taunted harshly, her powers growing as Yukiko was almost at the breaking point. " _ **I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn. Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!**_ "

Yukiko nearly snarled as she glared daggers at the Shadow. "How. Dare. You." She said forcing herself to stand up.

No one insulted her families inn like that.

"That's how I really feel," Shadow Yukiko smiled coyly at her. "Isn't that right… Me?"

"No." Yukiko shook while the others finally managed to free themselves from the wax.

"Yukiko no!" Chie cried out.

"Don't say it." Yosuke tried.

Kiyoshi tensed. "Amagi-San wait."

Narukami grimaced and got ready.

"No! You're not me!" Yukiko shouted too enraged to listen to any of them.

There was no way in hell this thing was her.

" _ **Heeheehee...!**_ " Shadow Yukiko started laughing maniacally, the dark aura emanating from her was becoming much more evident as it darkened. " _ **Aaaah! It feels wonderful! It's building… more and more... If this keeps up... I'll... I'll...!**_ "

Laughter echoed throughout the room as Shadow Yukiko was engulfed in a ball of dark energy.

The ball of dark energy then shot up into the air and dispersed blinding everyone for a bit. A few seconds later, a second large, chandelier came crashing down onto the floor. The chandelier doubled as a cage, one that was occupied by what became of Shadow Yukiko.

Shadow Yukiko now took on the form of a bird with fiery-red plumage. She had a cream-colored, heart-shaped breast and still retained her face and black hair. She was trapped inside the cage and looked rather uncomfortable for some reason. When the cage door swung open, the reason for Shadow Yukiko's discomfort was made evident when she moved in closer to the open door and  
spread her wings. She had a large wingspan and her cage was too small to fit inside of it.

" _ **I am a Shadow...the true self.**_ " Shadow Yukiko flapped her wings, sending red feathers everywhere a flicker of flames erupting around them.

Yukiko stared wide-eyed at her Shadow, completely terrified of what it became. Unbeknownst to her, the bird cage that had been left on the floor started moving towards her. At the last second, Yukiko shrieked as the bird cage morphed into a much larger cage and trapped her inside. A large chain came down and hooked itself around the top of the cage and pulled up, lifting the cage with Yukiko inside off the floor.

"Yukiko!" Chie yelled.

Yukiko grasped the cage's bars. "Chie!"

"Let her go!" Chie shouted with Tomoe responded to her emotions, slicing through the carpet that held her before shooting forward.

At the same time Izanagi, Jiraiya and Diaborosu broke free of the wax constraints before getting the first Chandelier off of Jiraiya as the three of them began to work together, keeping the many shadows that gathered from attacking Chie.

"Okay this is bad." Yosuke said blocking a strike with his knives right as Jiraiya blasted them back with Garu, grabbing Yosuke and placing him on its back to jump out of the way.

Kiyoshi said nothing as he was knocked off his feet by a blast of ice feeling dizzy before Diaborosu took the next hit sending him into the wall while Kiyoshi was sent right into Narukami who helped steadied him.

"Izanagi!" Narukami called out, using Zio to incinerate the Shadows around them.

"I have him." Yosuke said twirling his dagger. "Dia."

Kiyoshi groaned as his injuries healed and focused. "Okay Ice is a no-no for me." He muttered feeling a little faint.

They were exhausted from their trek up here, they should've at least rested for a day but they didn't want to leave it to chance just in case they were wrong about the foggy day time limit.

"Hanamura!" Narukami got the brunette's attention pointing towards the Chandelier.

"On it." Yosuke said with Jiraiya moving forward throwing two shurikens cutting the Cage and sending it along with Shadow Yukiko to the floor who responded with a burst of fire that blasted Tomoe making Chie cry out in pain some of the fire hit Teddie as he ran with his tail on fire.

Yukiko watched in horror, not caring if she can't believe what she was seeing because it was overridden by the worry of everyone who was fighting to save her.

Seeing that Chie forced herself up. "Don't worry Yukiko we're here for you."

" _ **Oh really?**_ " Shadow Yukiko mocked flapping her wings. " _ **Then I'll give you plenty to deal with.**_ "

"Eiha!" Dark energy blasted Shadow Yukiko as Kiyoshi now paled when she zeroed in on him and he saw that she was immune to Curse Attacks just like the Avenger Knight. "... Uh you're a pretty bird?"

" _ **Flattery won't save you.**_ " Shadow Yukiko said blasting fire in his direction but Diaborosu grabbed him and flew around the fire, the air feeling hot to Kiyoshi while it turned the spot he was in to charcoal. " _ **Hold still.**_ "

"Sukukaja!" Yosuke shouted as energy surrounded Diaborosu making him faster.

"Thanks," Kiyoshi said before focusing. "Sukunda."

As energy surrounded Shadow Yukiko, Chie responded with a Bufu and a Skull Cracker from Tomoe sending the Shadow reeling with Narukami taking advantage of that.

"Hit her with everything you have!" He ordered with them all laying into Shadow Yukiko before she erupted into flames blasting them all back, keeping their distance.

Yosuke quickly had Jiraiya use Dia on everyone to keep their energy up but Chie looked to be taking this the worst as the flames were really disorientating her.

"This is getting us nowhere we need a plan," Kiyoshi muttered looking around before remembering the cage and how uncomfortable the Shadow looked in it. "Narukami-Sama."

Narukami looked towards him to see Kiyoshi looking at the cage and that made him get it as he held his hand out. "Change, Valkyrie!" Izanagi was soon replaced by a woman with Norse Armor on a horse. "Bufu!"

Ice speared Shadow Yukiko's wings making her stumble back as Yosuke and Chie hit her with a Sonic Punch and Skull Cracker followed by Kiyoshi using one of Diaborosu's new techniques, Double Fangs.

The attacks sent Shadow Yukiko flying into the cage where Tomoe and Jiraiya forced the door closed.

"Change, Ukobach!" Valkyrie was now replaced Ukobach. "Agi!"

Ukobach gave a mischievous laugh as fire blasted the handle on the cage, melting it and effectively locking the Shadow inside.

" _ **How dare you,**_ " Shadow Yukiko snarled feeling cramped. " _ **You think you can cage me?! You're no better than the others. Come my Prince!**_ "

All of the remaining shadows that were about to attack them from behind froze and began to fuse together making everyone watch with bated breath before it died down to reveal a masked figure with a sword in hand dressed in silver armor with a red cape.

"Oh crap." Yosuke whimpered as Teddie who has kept out of the fight panicked.

"Be beary careful, that's a strong Shadow!" He said his arms waving back and forth in his fit of panic.

"Yes my Charming Prince, you came for me." Shadow Yukiko said in a sickly sweet tone. "Show them your strength."

Looking at them, the Charming Prince surrounded Narukami with green energy as Ukobach disappeared.

"Partner?" Yosuke asked with Narukami opening his mouth but nothing came out.

"Oh no, Sensei has been silenced, his Persona won't work anymore!" Teddie panicked with their eyes widening at that before the Prince gave a shout hitting Kiyoshi as he began to tremble. "And Hisoka has been affected by fear, this isn't good."

Kiyoshi couldn't hear Teddie, all he could think of at this moment was the heart-pounding fear he was feeling as his heart hammered against his chest, not even paying attention as the others called out for him before having to move as the Charming Prince freed Shadow Yukiko right as the flames knocked him back.

That did nothing but enhance the fear.

' _W-What am I doing here?!_ ' Kiyoshi thought his Persona disappearing due to his fear. ' _This is insane, I'll die… I don't want to die._ '

He needed to run, to get out of there.

Getting to his feet, Kiyoshi went to run but Narukami placed a hand on his shoulder, still silenced giving him a look while Chie and Yosuke were worrying about themselves.

Kiyoshi hesitated before the fear dissipated and he could think clearly, now ashamed by what he nearly did. He was so scared of being abandoned before all of this and yet he was about to abandon these guys to their deaths without thinking because of his fear of dying.

Giving a nod, Kiyoshi got ready while Narukami gave a slight smile before getting serious as the 'Silence' finally wore off.

"Izanagi!" Narukami quickly changed back to his original Persona who blasted the Charming Prince with electricity giving Jiraiya and Diaborosu enough time to destroy it.

" _ **No, my Prince,**_ " Shadow Yukiko whispered in horror before screaming. " _ **You'll pay! Burn to Ashes!**_ "

Flames erupted everywhere knocking them back as they were all on their last legs.

"Get out of here!" The real Yukiko shouted not wanting them to die.

"Not without you." Chie said panting as she had one eye closed in pain, burn marks all on her, the others getting ready to fight. "If you think we're leaving you Yukiko you have another thing coming."

"Chie." Yukiko whispered trying not to cry. "Please."

"I can do this all day." Yosuke said hiding his exhaustion, giving a smile. "So don't worry Amagi-San we'll have you out of there before you know it."

" _ **Don't make promises you can't keep,**_ " Shadow Yukiko snarled at them. " _ **I'll burn you all to a crisp.**_ "

"Sukunda," Kiyoshi gasped out making her slow once more, nearly passing out from exhaustion. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Everyone get ready." Narukami said doing his best to keep awake.

Seeing them all fighting for her made Yukiko cry out. "Just leave, you'll die!"

"No, I have something to tell you," Chie said looking at Yukiko as she slowly began to walk towards her caged friend, the Shadow lunging at her but Tomoe along with the others knocked her away. "I was always jealous of you."

"C-Chie?" Yukiko asked in surprise as the tomboy thought of all the times that Yukiko made it in the top ten on exams, being surrounded by boys and just being a kind person that everyone liked.

"You were popular, everyone looked at you while looking over me without a second glance," Chie said nearly hissing as Tomoe took a hit but she kept going, looking at Yukiko right in the eyes. "You were the only one who paid me attention in response to anyone else and… I was happy, you gave my life meaning when no one else would. Because of that I was happy whenever you needed my help with something, I valued that above everything because I thought my purpose was to protect you."

" _ **That's right!**_ " Shadow Yukiko blasted everyone back, Yosuke and Kiyoshi going down hard while Narukami fell to one knee, Chie crying out as the flames hitting Tomoe burnt her. " _ **I can't do anything without help! I'm useless and helpless!**_ "

"S-Shut up." Yosuke said pushing himself up. "Quit being a pain, Amagi-San isn't useless."

"Hanamura-Kun is right, Yukiko if you want to escape then do it." Chie said catching Yukiko by surprise. "You can get yourself out."

"Chie I can't," Yukiko said looking down. "I'm not strong enough-."

"Yes you are!" Chie cut her off. "You can leave and go wherever you want, if you don't want to inherit the Inn then say it, be your own person!"

Yukiko felt tears well up in her eyes. "It's not that simple, I can't." She said as she was afraid of what her family would think. "This Inn it's my families and I can't leave them, what would they say?"

"Who cares what they say?!" Chie shouted those words catching Yukiko's attention. "It might be your families legacy but this is your life. Your decision, so what if you're afraid of how it turns out? That makes you human. We're all afraid."

That made Yukiko look from Chie to the others who were keeping her Shadow back despite looking ready to drop, she could see fear but they kept going.

' _They're afraid and yet they're fighting._ ' Yukiko thought looking down. ' _But when I'm afraid I hope someone can save me instead._ '

Could she… Could she really save herself?

Looking back at Chie she saw how tired and exhausted Chie was before the Shadow got a hit in, fire blasting towards Chie making her eyes widen. "Chie!" She shouted grabbing the bars wanting to get to her friend, unknowingly breaking free of the cage.

The fire dissipated before it could hit Chie as the Shadow cried out her form turning to static.

"It's working." Yosuke said seeing that Yukiko was beginning to fight back as the girl actually freed herself and ran to Chie who fell to her knees. "Come on Partner!"

With that said Narukami and Yosuke hit the Shadow with everything they got the Shadow crying out as it turned back into Yukiko, hitting the ground.

"See?" Chie asked tiredly when Yukiko reached her. "You broke free… All on your own."

Yukiko was silent as the others approached before hugging Chie. "I'm sorry." She sobbed out nearly seeing her best friend dying for her.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Narukami said with a smile before they heard movement and turned to see Yukiko's Shadow looking at them.

Yukiko hesitated before Chie stood up with a smile. "It's okay Yukiko, you don't have to keep it locked up."

"Everyone has something they don't want to show to people," Yosuke told her. "Or want to reveal to themselves, all of us went through this."

Kiyoshi gave a nod, keeping silent in this exchange.

On hearing that Yukiko gave a nod and stood up, turning towards her Shadow as she slowly walked to it, a contemplative look on her face. "I want to run away… I want someone to save me… You're right those were my feelings," She said remembering how her Shadow mocked her while it showed surprise at her admitting to this. "I understand now, you're me."

With that she hugged her Shadow who gave a relieved smile before it began to glow and disappear as above her a figure of a beautiful woman dressed in pink with short hair and yellow eyes with what looked to be wings connecting to her arms and back.

After a few moments she disappeared as a blue card floated into Yukiko's hands. "Konohana-Sakuya." Yukiko whispered her Persona's name as the card disappeared before she fell to her knees the awakening of her Persona exhausting her.

"Yukiko!" Chie was at her side in an instant as she gave a tired smile.

"I'm fine just tired," Yukiko said before looking at all of them. "You… All came to rescue me."

Chie gave a nod. "Of course."

"Thank you." Yukiko said a smile on her face.

"We weren't just going to leave you here Amagi-San." Yosuke said with his one eyed smile. "I'm just happy we managed to get to you."

"It's good to see you safe." Narukami said while Kiyoshi gave a nervous chuckle.

He was now used to the others but not to Yukiko so he wasn't sure what to say before Teddie made his presence known. "So, who threw you in here?"

Yukiko blinked at seeing him for the first time. "Huh? Who are you? Rather what are you?"

"I'm beary much a bear!"

"I… Don't follow." Yukiko looked more confused than anything by the bear pun.

Yosuke just looked at Teddie. "See this is what happens when you open your mouth so zip it."

"Your oppression is unbearable!" Teddie countered back.

Kiyoshi just groaned. "I don't know what's worse, the Shadows or your bear puns."

Teddie sighed. "Who threw you in?" He asked getting back on track while hiding his disappointment at their reaction to his bearific puns.

"I don't know-I think… Someone called for my name," Yukiko said trying to think. "But I don't remember who, sorry."

"No new clues?" Teddie asked looking down.

"I wouldn't say that, now we know for sure that someone threw Amagi-San in here." Yosuke said with a grin.

"So… It really wasn't you guys?" Teddie asked without thinking.

Narukami just looked at him. "You still suspected us?"

"Uh no I-... Always believed it wasn't you guys." Teddie said sweating while Yosuke glared a vein showing on his forehead.

"You little, you're one lying sack of honey."

"Let's hurry home." Chie said with them agreeing before Kiyoshi cried out.

"Aw man I forgot about them." He said opening his now ruined backpack to see wax covering the Bentos and they were cracked open and all over the place in there making them inedible.

He didn't think about taking his bag off when they fought Yukiko's Shadow.

"What's wrong Kiyoshi-San?" Yosuke asked wondering what he was moaning about considering how quiet he usually was.

"... I uh made B-Bentos for everyone because Amagi-San was in h-here for awhile so I f-figured we would celebrate on getting her out," Kiyoshi admitted looking red in the face. "But it's no g-good now."

"That was thoughtful of you." Narukami remarked while Kiyoshi sighed and closed his bag.

"Yeah too bad it was wasted." Kiyoshi muttered before realizing he was complaining about that when he should be happy that Yukiko was rescued. "Not that this whole thing was a waste-I mean no wait that's wrong-."

Yosuke laughed. "Chill out, we know what you mean."

"Kiyoshi-San was it?" Yukiko asked as they haven't really spoken that much. "Thank you for the thought."

Kiyoshi went red at that and clammed up before sighing as they began to leave.

At least Amagi-San was saved.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Man this chapter took forever to type, I am so sorry for how long it took, hopefully the length and the action more than made up for it-I also hope I didn't overdo it with how the characters were. Recently been playing this game again and it got me back to typing this story.**_

 _ **But Yukiko's Castle is done so hopefully I can get the next chapter out sooner.**_

 _ **I'll admit that one of the reasons I haven't been working on this one lately was because the lack of reviews-I mean the two I do have are great because they let me know that this story is good but it's hard to continue it without knowing if this story is well received or not, but I enjoy typing it so I decided it doesn't matter if this one doesn't get many reviews I will keep continuing it to the end if I can.**_

 _ **It's just fun to type Kiyoshi and slowly reveal his character along with the problems he has-he's slowly getting confident though so he won't be stuttering for too long.**_

 _ **Oh and I think a lot of people could tell right away who Nanashi was-here's a hint he's the MC of a certain game made by Atlus.**_

 _ **So let me answer the Review and get this posted.**_

 _ **Domea: Thank you and I am sorry for the long wait, I'll do my best to update sooner.**_


	8. Waiting for Answers

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 08: Waiting for Answers**_

 _ **Wednesday April 20th, 2011**_

 _ **-Evening-**_

Kiyoshi sighed as he made it home, taking his shoes off at the door.

Thanks to Yosuke they managed to sneak Yukiko out through the employee section without anyone seeing her and after a quick questioning to see what she remembered, Chie took her home with the story that they found her in the flood plains.

He could scarcely believe it though.

They might've just prevented a murder after nearly dying a few times themselves.

Still they don't know for sure until the next foggy day which would confirm it, but at least Yukiko was back home with her family where she would no doubt be kept an eye on so this murderer wouldn't get the idea about finishing the job.

But future Kiyoshi can worry about that because present Kiyoshi was exhausted beyond belief that it made the past times he's been exhausted seem tame.

' _There's Track tomorrow too._ ' He thought with a slight groan.

While attendance wasn't mandatory he didn't want to fall into the habit of not going especially after he just started.

Kiyoshi froze however when he heard footsteps as a middle-aged man that had dark hair and an angular face with sharp green eyes walked out, dressed in a suit and tie.

He paused however at seeing Kiyoshi. "Weird to see you out of your room." Katashi Kiyoshi said a frown on his face. "What exactly have you been doing with your time?"

"T-Track." Kiyoshi said stuttering despite himself.

It wasn't really a lie considering he was a part of the track team.

Surprise flickered on Katashi's face before he scoffed and walked past Kiyoshi showing he was going to be working late.

As soon as the door shut, Kiyoshi breathed a sigh of relief.

That was actually pretty tame, then again he wasn't drinking so that was always a plus.

Kiyoshi let out a yelp when his phone buzzed-scaring the crap out of him before he pulled it out to see it was the Chat Room.

 _ **{Inaba Investigation Team}**_

Satonaka: Hey I got Yukiko home, her family were overjoyed that she was safe… Thank you guys.

Narukami: You helped out too, don't forget that.

Satonaka: I know but I owe you guys.

Hanamura: … Enough for the Trial of the Dragons?

Satonaka: Don't push your luck Hanamura.

Kiyoshi: Trial of the Dragons?

Hanamura: Nothing, it was nothing.

Hanamura: Hey who changed the Chat Name?

Kiyoshi: Uh well I figured since we're doing this why not?

Kiyoshi: … You don't like it?

Hanamura: Nah it's cool, ;D.

Satonaka: I don't have a problem with it, but does anyone know the next time we'll have fog?

Narukami: I think it's the 29th because we have three days straight of rain.

Hanamura: So we won't know whether or not Amagi-San is safe until then.

Satonaka: She'll be fine, I plan to visit her whenever I can and I don't think she'll leave the Inn for the next few days.

Kiyoshi: So now we have to wait?

Narukami: And act like nothing happened.

Narukami: If anyone figured out we know more about the case we would be watched constantly.

Hanamura: Which would make it harder to investigate gotcha.

Narukami: And don't put all of the Yen we have in the bank, there's a chance it might draw attention.

Satonaka: Oh right, because none of us have jobs.

Hanamura: Excuse me?

Kiyoshi: Except for Hanamura at least but that's a good point, if we deposit so much without having a job then it would be pretty suspicious. Should we meet up tomorrow?

Narukami: … No, give it a day or two to ensure we don't draw attention.

 _ **{End Chat}**_

Closing the chat portion of his phone, Kiyoshi sighed and went to his room after grabbing a TaP Soda along with a bowl of Instant Ramen, intent on resting after eating before he turned the news on.

Nothing to be too concerned with as the two murders were being talked about, Kiyoshi now being resigned to that fact before he saw the time and changed the channel to watch Phoenix Ranger Neo Featherman R.

He hasn't seen it in a long time and the cheesiness of it is actually a relief after what's happened making him smile.

* * *

 _ **Thursday April 21st, 2011**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Thankfully Kiyoshi made it to the school without any incident, not even having his book out as he fixed his glasses.

He felt so much better after some rest due to the events of the other day and he had to say he felt like a new person in terms of being active. Was it normal to feel refreshed like this after so much fighting?

Or did their Persona's have something to do with it?

Still he had his plan, he was going to run track and then play some video games to pass the time until they meet up. Maybe SEES-Hermes was going to be on that night?

"Kiyoshi!" Kiyoshi blinked at the voice as it wasn't one of the others, so he turned to see Nanashi walking up.

"N-Nanashi-Senpai, what can I do for you?" Kiyoshi asked nearly falling back into the old habit of stuttering.

"Oh nothing, came to see if you were heading to practice after school today." Nanashi said with a friendly smile.

"I'll be t-there unless something c-comes up." Kiyoshi said with a smile.

On hearing that Nanashi smiled in reply. "That's good, just be warned you'll be aching once it's done."

Just like that Kiyoshi was now hesitant.

Still he already planned on going.

 _ **-During School-**_

Kiyoshi sighed as he sat back in his usual seat, already saying morning to the others while acting like a normal student.

King Moron was currently ranting about how 'young' people should show respect to their elders instead of being little craps as he so eloquently puts it.

Truth be told he vaguely wished that King Moron was one of the victims rather than the announcer or Konishi-Senpai… Then he chastened himself as he shouldn't wish that on anyone.

The guy didn't make it easy though.

"Kiyoshi you look like you're dozing off," Morooka zeroed in on the teen making him jerk in surprise while the attention was now on him. "I wonder if you've been paying attention, tell me who said 'Law is the Correct Judgement of State'?"

' _Oh crap._ ' Kiyoshi swallowed before he saw Narukami turn towards him behind Morooka and mouth the answer.

"S-Socrates." Kiyoshi quickly said with Morooka looking surprised and annoyed but giving a nod.

As he returned to his ranting, Kiyoshi mouthed thanks to Narukami who gave a nod, feeling grateful to the transfer student.

 _ **-After School-**_

"Come on just keep running." Nanashi encouraged as Kiyoshi was panting after a few minutes.

He was already improving at a fast rate-so much that Nanashi was surprised given his performance last time.

The more he thought about it, the more Kiyoshi was certain that their Persona's were doing something to them physically-kind of makes sense considering in the TV world they survived being hit by fire, lightning as well as being stabbed.

So it had to affect them a bit in the real world as well.

"I have to say Kiyoshi-San you are pretty surprising," Nanashi said as they took a break after a good fifteen minutes. "Were you not doing this seriously last time?"

Kiyoshi had no idea how to explain this so he shrugged. "It's just coming easier to me." He said half-heartedly with Nanashi frowning but giving a nod before he checked his phone as it buzzed.

Naturally he was curious, especially when he saw Nanashi's eyes widen. "This app." He muttered eliciting a confused look from Kiyoshi who went to peek but Nanashi quickly put his phone up.

"Something wrong Senpai?"

"Nah just a stupid app that won't let me delete it," Nanashi said with a smile on his face but it looked thoughtful as he thought about how fast Kiyoshi seemed to be catching up and some suspicion sunk in. "... Have you by any chance met a man in an orange suit bound to a wheelchair?"

That casual question earned a bizarre look from Kiyoshi. "Excuse me?"

"Ah it's nothing," Nanashi said seeing the genuine confusion on Kiyoshi and he felt relief. "Well come on we should practice a bit more."

Seeing him run on ahead, Kiyoshi found himself wondering what that was about before deciding that he might just be thinking too much about this.

Still that was a pretty specific question to ask.

…

After Track practice, Kiyoshi was walking home when he paused at seeing Narukami, Yosuke and some new girl eating Steak Skewers.

This girl had a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie a black belt and a red skirt, red protective sleeves on her arms and dark gray boots. Her black hair was chin length covered with a blue hat and she carried a blue bag while her gray eyes was looking between Narukami and Yosuke as they spoke.

Yosuke was the first to see him. "Yo Kiyoshi-San you here to get your steak on too?" He asked bringing the attention to him.

"Nah Track practice just finished so I was on my way home," Kiyoshi said rubbing the back of his head. "Uh am I interrupting something?"

"Nope." Narukami said with a smile. "Marie-Chan this is Kiyoshi-San."

' _Marie?_ ' Kiyoshi thought to the foreign sounding name.

"Uh n-n-nice to m-meet you." Kiyoshi said his stuttering kicking in once more at talking to someone outside of their little group.

"I guess?" Marie sounded very confused, probably because of his stuttering.

"Geez Kiyoshi I know she's a pretty girl but no need to stutter." Yosuke teased with a wink to show he was just messing with him.

"H-Hey! That's not true-wait no I mean not that she isn't pretty but that's not why I stuttered!" Kiyoshi protested before groaning. "Wait that didn't come out right."

"... You're strange." Marie said bluntly.

Kiyoshi didn't say anything to that not wanting to make it worse.

Realizing he might've took that too far with the teasing, Yosuke quickly changed the conversation. "So Marie-Chan, what did you think of the local specialty?" He asked referring to the steak they had.

"It's really weird. It's tough, hard to bite into, and it got cold while I was eating it," Marie commented truthfully making Yosuke winced before she smiled. "It was delicious."

"Oh, uh… That's good?" Yosuke blinked unsure of how to take this. "Didn't sound like you liked it in the beginning there."

"... Now I want to buy some Steak Skewers." Kiyoshi said feeling hungry.

Yosuke let out a laugh. "No one's stopping you dude."

"Hey, why is it called steak anyways?" Marie couldn't help but ask as Kiyoshi made his order. "Is it short for something?"

"It's short for 'Steaaaaaaaaak.'" Narukami said with a straight face earning an incredulous look from Yosuke while Kiyoshi came back with his Steak Skewer.

"That's stupid." Marie said not getting it. "Might as well call it 'ake'. That's what I'm going to do."

"... What did I miss?" Kiyoshi asked with Yosuke sighing.

"Don't ask, and that isn't much better Marie-Chan," Yosuke said before rounding on Narukami. "And you, don't tell her lies! She's believing it."

Narukami just chuckled while Marie sighed.

"You eat this every day?" She asked referring to the Steak. "No fair, I should've come earlier."

"So a-are you a t-t-tourist Marie-San?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"Turist?" Marie repeated thinking he said something else. "What is that?"

Kiyoshi blinked, not expecting that.

"He's asking if you're from out of town just visiting." Narukami elaborated seeing Marie tensing before she looked away not answering that.

Needless to say that made things a bit awkward before Yosuke gave a slight curse. "Ah crap, I left my key back in my locker at work." He said checking his pockets. "I've got to go back to Junes, see you guys! You too, Marie-Chan!"

As he took off, Kiyoshi looked at his watch. "I should head home to, see you later Narukami-Sama and n-nice to meet y-you Marie-San."

With that said Kiyoshi took off, barely hearing Marie speak. "Your friends are pretty strange."

…

It was evening by the time Kiyoshi made it home before he was back in his room, loading up CoW, sending a message to SEES-Hermes to see if he was online.

Thankfully it didn't take long to get a reply. ' _ **You up for fighting the boss dude?**_ '

Kiyoshi smiled and replied back. ' _ **Sure thing.**_ '

A little into playing the game, Kiyoshi decided to send a message.

' _ **So what does SEES stand for?**_ '

As soon as he hit send, he saw the Avatar for SEES-Hermes stop walking before a reply came through. ' _ **Oh it's just a club at the school I was in, it's the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad.**_ '

' _ **That's a pretty peculiar name.**_ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but comment.

' _ **I know, but the name was picked long before I joined.**_ '

Kiyoshi thought about asking what the club did but saw that SEES-Hermes was moving again and the boss music was just starting up.

Eh, he could always ask again later.

It was after fighting the boss that he received another message. ' _ **So what took so long to get back on?**_ '

' _ **Eh just some stuff happening at home, I can't really go that much into detail because it's not really my business,**_ ' Kiyoshi typed, not wanting to say anything about Shadows or Persona's because no one would believe him. ' _ **But another reason was because I didn't want to bother Dad while he was home from work.**_ '

For some reason SEES-Hermes took awhile to answer back on that one. ' _ **Ah gotcha.**_ '

' _ **Yeah, it's rare that he's usually home from work, so it's not that much that I'll be off.**_ '

' _ **Oh yeah? What does he do?**_ '

Kiyoshi hesitated unsure if he should type this because while he seemed to be getting along with SEES-Hermes he was still a stranger online-then again it's not like he's saying he's from Inaba or his real name.

' _ **He's a board member for the trading company Kirijo Group so he works odd hours.**_ '

Kiyoshi smiled finding this fun, maybe because he can't exactly stutter with typing and can think about what he wanted to say. That was the main reason he made the Chat Room with the others because while it's not actually talking he was socializing.

So it was a step up from how he used to be.

' _ **Heh Kirijo huh?**_ ' SEES-Hermes replied in a manner as if there was an inside joke that Kiyoshi knew nothing about. ' _ **Hey good for him.**_ '

Kiyoshi felt his smile drop at that. ' _ **Yeah.**_ '

 _ **Saturday April 23rd, 2011**_

 _ **-Lunchtime-**_

Kiyoshi hummed to himself as he was in the school library looking through some books a bit bored as they were still waiting for Yukiko to recover.

Still he was using this time to study for the midterms that would be coming up soon, wanting to get them done and out of the way. He had to keep his good grades up after all.

Eventually Kiyoshi chuckled as he found a book titled ' _The Maltese Falcon_ ' and took it out. "Maybe I should read this a bit, might come in handy later."

"Looking to be a detective?"

The sudden question made Kiyoshi jump as Narukami walked up to him. "Narukami-Sama you scared the crap out of me," Kiyoshi snapped before wincing. "Sorry."

Narukami didn't look too put off, he simply began to look through the bookshelf for a book to borrow. "Is this where you usually spend your time?"

"Huh?" Kiyoshi asked before realizing what he meant. "Oh... Yeah, it's peaceful and quiet, best place to be in my opinion."

Rather he was more comfortable in the Library than anywhere else because it was the one place he found solitude in.

It was pathetic but it was what he did.

After a minute of looking through books, Narukami looked at Kiyoshi. "What book would you recommend?" He asked wanting his opinion thinking it was a way to get him to converse.

Kiyoshi blinked before returning the question. "What genre do you usually read?"

"Maybe something on myths?" Narukami elaborated earning a nod from Kiyoshi as he showed the transfer student where he would find it.

It didn't take long before the two were sitting at a table reading their respective books, but Kiyoshi couldn't focus as he fidgeted.

Why was Narukami really here?

From what he knew of him so far between going into the other world and all that was that he didn't do things for no reason. So why was he here?

"Is something wrong?" Narukami asked not looking up from his book on the myths of Japan, turning the page in the process.

"... Sorry." Kiyoshi muttered thinking he was distracting him from reading. "Just not used to sitting with someone in the Library, people usually just avoid me."

On hearing that, Narukami looked up as Kiyoshi shook his head.

"Uh forget it, anyways I think class is about to begin soon." Kiyoshi said checking the time.

Narukami just gave a nod, feeling like he could understand Kiyoshi a bit more.

 _Smash!_

Once more, time froze for Narukami as the Social Link he had with Kiyoshi increased with Narukami barely flinching.

He was used to this by now considering he made quite a few but that didn't mean he liked it because at first it felt like he was using people for this when it was first explained to him. But he was given a better explanation learning that the bonds made in these Social Links can't be faked for such a selfish reason and it must be genuine from both sides which made it easier to accept along with how doing these gave strength to them more than him.

Right now he had about six Social Links. Yosuke was the Magician, Chie was the Chariot, Kiyoshi was the Hermit, Marie was Aeon, the Basketball team was Strength and their Investigation team was the Fool.

Time unfroze yet again with Kiyoshi blinking as Diaborosu shifted in his head. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Narukami asked curiously.

"Apparently Diaborosu somehow learned a new technique," Kiyoshi sounded very confused at how this happened. "Something called Mudo?"

 _ **-After School-**_

Kiyoshi sighed as he walked into Aiya's intent on eating dinner.

"Ah Kiyoshi-Kun how are you doing?" The owner of Aiya, Nakamura spoke up with Kiyoshi giving a slight chuckle, sitting in a stool.

"Pretty good, can I have the special for today?"

"One Nikudon coming right up, you just missed Aika, she's out for deliveries." Nakamura explained as he went to make the order.

Kiyoshi gave a silent chuckle before he began to read the book he borrowed from the library thinking he would have the peace and quiet there.

He barely registered the door opening once more as he was getting into the book or Nakamura greeting the new customer.

The voice however made him look up.

"I'll take the Chow Mein."

Seeing the person who spoke, Kiyoshi swore he saw the person before it clicked.

It was the guy he nearly walked into the day after he got his Persona-.

"Can I help you?" The guy asked looking at Kiyoshi who realized he was staring making him go red in embarrassment as he looked down.

"Sorry, just thought I recognized you." Kiyoshi said thinking that the conversation would drop.

But that just made the guy look closer before recognition dawned on him. "You're that guy I nearly walked into." He said surprising Kiyoshi that he remembered.

"W-Well I was the o-one not paying attention." Kiyoshi said rubbing the back of his head, fidgeting a bit.

' _Come on Kiyoshi you can talk to other people._ ' He thought as he was getting better with speaking if his interactions with Nanashi was anything to go by.

"I'm Kiyoshi Hisoka." Kiyoshi introduced himself holding his hand out but the guy just regarded him cooly before giving a nod.

"Shirogane Naoto." He returned, his blue eyes seemingly analyzing him. "You go to Yasogami High is that correct?"

The sudden question surprised Kiyoshi before he remembered that he was wearing his school uniform still. "Y-Yes?"

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Naoto asked before flashing a-was that a detective badge?!

"You're a detective?!" Kiyoshi asked his shock overriding his nervousness.

Naoto gave a frown at that familiar question, seemingly resigned to it. "I am."

"That's pretty cool," Kiyoshi said with a smile surprising the guy. "I mean you're practically my age and you're a detective? That says something about your skills-... You're going to ask me about the murders aren't you?"

Just like that his nervousness was back as he didn't want to let anything slip about the Investigation Team or the other world.

"There has been two victims, one of them going to your school while a third person who also goes to your school went missing only to be found a few days later," Naoto repeated with Kiyoshi sweating a bit. "It's only natural that I would ask a student from that school."

"Uh well it's not like I knew Saki-Senpai personally, that was Hanamura-San who did."

"Very well, what about Yukiko Amagi, you're a second year correct?" Naoto asked despite the number pin being on the school uniform.

"Amagi-San and I are just classmates, she's friends with Satonaka-San but that's the extent of how I know her." Kiyoshi said just telling the truth there. "I mean I'm friends with Satonaka-San but that doesn't extend to Amagi-San."

Naoto frowned seeing how nervous Kiyoshi was being.

Was he hiding something?

Not knowing what Naoto was thinking, Kiyoshi just fixed his glasses before Nakamura came back with his order. "Here you go Kiyoshi-Kun." The man said with Kiyoshi gratefully taking the distraction.

"Arigato." He said with a smile.

As he began to eat, Kiyoshi was well aware of the suspicious glances sent his way while Naoto received his meal.

Figures the one person he decided to talk to outside of school was a detective looking into the case.

 _ **-Evening-**_

Kiyoshi entered his home with a thoughtful look wondering if he should tell the others about this Naoto guy, but he figured he didn't say anything incriminating. Besides if he does talk to the others no doubt he would uncover how much of a nervous wreck he used to be and there was no way he would've discovered the other world unless he saw them go inside of the TV.

So all in all he was worrying over nothing at the moment.

Or at least that was what he told himself.

Still he had a book to read so he might as well take care of it so he could return it later.

 _ **Sunday April 24th, 2011**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Kiyoshi stretched as he swung his legs to get out of bed with a yawn.

Yet another day, this time no school and he checked his phone after turning it on to see if any of the others placed anything in the group chat if there was an update on the Murder Investigation.

Instead however he saw a message from Nanashi who had his number due to being the captain of the Track Team so he needed it in order to contact the others. So checking it he saw it was an invite to hang out with him.

Blinking in surprise, Kiyoshi replied and got ready dressing in his casual clothes instead of the school uniform.

…

It didn't take long to find Nanashi who was wearing a green shirt and pants, talking with his friend Asahi who wore a blue dress which ended in a skirt and for some reason had a white helmet on.

He went to say hi but stopped as he overheard them talking.

"So you got the Summoning App? I thought it disappeared when we ended up here." Asahi said to Nanashi. "I mean there aren't Demons around right?"

"I thought so too, but if it appeared then that means something is going on and Stephen is probably behind it appearing," Nanashi replied. "After everything we've seen I wouldn't throw out that possibility."

Nanashi then crossed his arms.

"Wait, you mean you didn't get it?"

"I haven't checked because there was no reason to," Asahi sounded worried. "Wait do you think it has something to do with these strange murders going around?"

"No, if it was Demons the bodies would've been in worse condition," Nanashi dismissed with a shake of his head. "Then again there wouldn't be any bodies at all."

' _What are they talking about?_ ' Kiyoshi thought before he felt his nose twitch. ' _Oh cra-._ '

"Achoo," He sneezed making them tense and he quickly made it look like he was just approaching so they wouldn't get the wrong idea. "Ah man I hate spring, sorry I'm late Senpai."

Asahi looked towards him in surprise but Nanashi acted quicker. "Did you just get here?" He asked as if Kiyoshi didn't just overhear them.

"Yeah, had to take care of some stuff." Kiyoshi said not letting on that he was listening.

Although he was on edge.

Summoning App? Demons?

"I hope you don't mind Asahi I invited a friend he's from track." Nanashi said with Asahi looking at him in confusion wondering what he was doing. "Kiyoshi-San this is Asahi, she's one of my oldest friends."

"Nice to meet you." Kiyoshi said politely.

"Same here." Asahi said with a friendly smile although there was hesitation before doing so.

When Kiyoshi wasn't looking, Nanashi showed his phone and pointed at an app before pointing at Kiyoshi making her eyes widen at what he was suspecting.

Kiyoshi however was wondering how to get the information of what he just heard without letting on that he eavesdropped.

Despite the suspicions on both sides it proved to be a pretty interesting day.

A part of him wanted to tell the others of what he overheard but he figured he needed more information before he could bring it up due to the nature of the conversation, so for now he was going to keep it to himself.

 _ **Monday April 25th, 2011**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Kiyoshi yawned while walking to school tiredly as clouds were gathering in the sky.

He spent an all nighter studying because Midterms were approaching fast and he wanted to try and beat Yukiko's score as she was always in the top ten-then again he felt a little guilty because he figured if he did it would be because she's been bed-ridden after that ordeal inside of the TV.

"Yo." Kiyoshi paused and turned to see Chie running towards him.

"Satonaka-San?"

"Hey Kiyoshi-Kun, you walking to school alone?" Chie asked slowing to a stop to match his walking speed.

"It's nothing new, although the ugly weather isn't helping," Kiyoshi remarked before looking at Chie. "How are you doing?"

"Oh fine, Yukiko's safe so I'm good," Chie said looking relieved. "I already said this in the Chat but I wanted to thank everyone in person."

Kiyoshi felt odd at being thanked for something. "Hey it was a group effort."

Chie gave a laugh. "Narukami-Kun said the same thing the other day." She said with Kiyoshi taking that as a compliment.

 _ **-Afternoon-**_

"Culture Club?" Kiyoshi asked as he ran into Narukami after finishing class up. "But you're already a part of the Basketball team."

"It's something to keep me busy," Narukami said with a shrug. "I have a lot of time on my hands."

Kiyoshi blinked as he heard that.

A lot of time-? He was in Basketball, the leader of their Investigation Team and he made sure to hang out with each of them individually along with seemingly keeping his grades up if his notes were anything to go by.

How does he have a lot of time on his hands?!

Wait, does his ability to use multiple Persona's have something to do with being efficient in multitasking?

"I'm signing up for Drama, I used to be in a club like that in the city." Narukami said surprising Kiyoshi.

That was an interesting tidbit since Narukami doesn't speak about his life before Inaba all that much.

' _Maybe having another club won't be so bad._ ' Kiyoshi thought as he does keep himself busy with Track along with the team, studying and video games.

Perhaps he could join the Music Club to give him something else to do?

…

Kiyoshi will admit he was a bit on edge when he entered the Music Room because he hasn't played an instrument in his life, but he took a deep breath and continued.

Just keep moving on and he will be good.

"Oh and don't forget to stop by the faculty office and pick up the key." Kiyoshi blinked as one of the band members was speaking to a girl who had her back to him.

"Okay no problem," The girl said turning to walk and nearly walked into Kiyoshi. "Ahh… Oh, sorry about that."

The girl was pretty… Childish looking if Kiyoshi had to be blunt with short dark green hair with sides that reached down her face and gray eyes, wearing the female school uniform along with rosy cheeks that darkened at nearly running into him.

The pin on her uniform identified her as a first-year.

She looked like a middle school student, then again who was he to judge given how old he really was. If anything this girl was probably a year older than him.

"Ummm?" Kiyoshi was brought out of his thoughts when he realized she was looking awkward, not sure what to say.

' _Is this how people feel with me?_ ' He thought finding it odd to be on the opposite side of the shy and awkward scale.

"I-I'm here t-to join the c-club," Kiyoshi got out before he coughed. "I mean is there an opening?"

Hearing that the girl gave a nod looking relieved. "Oh, okay. Umm, wait right here please," She said turning around. "Captain! Caaaaptain!"

Eventually, Kiyoshi found himself standing in front of the other band members as the Captain spoke to them. "This is Kiyoshi Hisoka, a second-year. Let's give him a warm welcome everyone." He said with everyone doing so in a bored tone. "So Kiyoshi-San, do you have any experience with musical instruments?"

"I never played in my life," Kiyoshi answered honestly. "I know how to read notes but I haven't played an instrument before."

"Ah-," The captain looked a bit put off but he recovered quickly. "Well that doesn't matter, as long as you can read the notes you'll catch up in no time."

Kiyoshi gave a nod.

"Well for now just stick around and watch for today, we meet on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays-," The Captain stopped as Kiyoshi winced. "Something wrong."

"No." Kiyoshi lied as he would have to decide between this and track a few times now.

"If you're sure… Hey Ayane!" The Captain spoke up getting the short girl's attention.

"Y-Yes?!" Ayane asked looking ready but nervous.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to Kiyoshi-San?"

"Um… Er, my name is Ayane Matsunaga, I'm a first-year." She said not expecting that. "I-I play the trombone and, uh…"

"Alright, she'll get you brought up to speed. If you'll excuse me." The Captain left to continue to help out with practice. "Break's over, bring it down from the top."

…

It was an hour later that Kiyoshi stood in there when Ayane came back in after everyone left. "Oh Senpai… You're still here?" She asked with Kiyoshi blinking never being called 'Senpai' before-then again she was a year below him so it was natural. "It's okay you can go home now."

Kiyoshi looked at her and then at the room as it was a bit of a mess.

Ayane seemed to have taken his look as something else. "Sorry, I was supposed to give you the details on our club wasn't I?" She asked with Kiyoshi wincing feeling a little bad. "Um we meet on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays-... Oh right they told you that huh?"

"I-It's fine." Kiyoshi said fixing his glasses.

"We don't have attendance so you don't have to come if you don't want to, but practice makes perfect," Ayane continued nervously. "If you keep at it this would be a great way to learn to express yourself more confidently."

Kiyoshi looked surprised at that while Ayane looked down. "You remind me of how I was before joining this club Senpai," She explained showing that she used to be even more awkward than she showed so far. "Though I haven't really gotten far since huh?"

Kiyoshi looked at her now realizing he might've found a kindred spirit in the whole awkwardness and he smiled. "Neither have I." He said with Ayane giving a nod.

"Do you have any questions, Senpai?"

Thinking for a bit, Kiyoshi snapped his fingers. "Where does the club play?"

"Well sometimes we do performances at Hospitals or Senior Homes," Ayane answered with Kiyoshi thinking that was pretty cool of this club. "We aren't a big enough band to enter any competitions. But people enjoy our performances, we really pour our hearts into the music."

' _I think I made the right choice to join up._ ' Kiyoshi thought with a slight smile.

So far it wasn't that bad.

"Well… I say 'we' but I don't usually play," Ayane said some sadness in her tone that she quickly covered up. "I take care of all the paperwork around here."

Now that surprised Kiyoshi who gave her a curious look.

"A-Anyway I have to tidy up, why don't you go on ahead Senpai?"

On hearing that Kiyoshi hesitated and looked around the room. Only a dick would leave all of this clean-up to one person.

Was this normal for Ayane and if so why would they just leave the clean-up to her when it would've been more efficient for the whole club to pitch in.

"I'll help." Kiyoshi said without thinking before looking nervous at her surprised glance. "W-What do you n-need me to do?"

"I-It's okay it's my responsibility and you just joined," Ayane said her face a little red. "So um please don't go out of your way… Still thank you for the offer."

 _ **Tuesday April 26th, 2011**_

 _ **-Evening-**_

"Huh so that's how it works." Yosuke muttered as he, Narukami and Kiyoshi were over at his place.

They all got off their sports team around the same time so Yosuke invited the two to his place as his parents were going to be working at Junes late.

To pass the time they decided to study for the upcoming Midterms.

"Man I don't get how you two can take good notes," Yosuke complained with a sigh. "When I do it it's a jumbled mess."

"M-Maybe you shouldn't listen to m-music while doing so." Kiyoshi suggested as Yosuke always had his headphones on.

Yosuke gave a slight glare but he chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Listening to music is the only way I can stay awake in there." He then grinned. "Speaking of music I heard you joined the School Band."

Kiyoshi went red and focused more on his notes. "I f-figured it wouldn't h-hurt."

"What about you Hanamura?" Narukami asked with a quirked brow. "Any Culture Clubs you want to join?"

"Dude I'm already in Soccer and I work with my parents at Junes, I don't need anything else on my plate Partner." Yosuke said with a huff before looking out the window as while it was getting dark, he could see more clouds coming in. "The rain is coming isn't it?"

"We'll know for sure if we succeeded in rescuing Amagi-San once the next foggy day passes." Narukami said seeing what he meant.

"I'd rather know now instead of waiting." Yosuke replied considering this was their first attempt at rescuing anyone and they don't know the true extent of this world or the mystery killer.

"T-There's nothing we c-can do but w-wait." Kiyoshi pointed out.

"True," Yosuke said crossing his arms before going back to his notes. "So after this you guys want to watch a movie?"

"What movie?" Narukami asked with interest.

"Dumminator, the sequel will be coming out soon." Yosuke said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

As they spoke, Kiyoshi thought about just heading home but instead he figured it wouldn't hurt to watch this movie. In fact it might be fun.

He felt much closer to the guys than before.

 _ **Wednesday April 27th, 2011**_

 _ **-Lunchtime-**_

Once more Kiyoshi was in the Library with Narukami, the transfer student visiting him again, this time however the two had their books out to study a bit more, ignoring the rain that was pattering on the windows.

Fidgeting a bit, Kiyoshi decided to start the conversation this time. "So… How are you adjusting to Inaba?"

It was a fair question since it's been about what three weeks?

Narukami looked up from his notes. "Pretty well actually," He said surprising Kiyoshi. "A lot better than I thought I would."

"What do you mean?"

"Having friends helps." Narukami answered with a smile while Kiyoshi looked down a bit, getting what he meant as his face heated up.

Friends… Narukami considers him a friend?

… But for how long?

"Kiyoshi-San?" Narukami looked surprised at his sudden silence. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Kiyoshi said pushing that thought down. "J-Just a little n-nervous at the Midterms."

Narukami obviously didn't believe him but he let it go, willing to let Kiyoshi choose when to tell him.

"How about you?" Narukami asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you adjusting to the team?"

Oh right because he was a loner before this Murder Investigation thing happened.

"I-I think so," Kiyoshi said nervously. "It's… It's weird if I'm being honest because at times I can't believe what's happening."

Narukami gave a nod understanding what he meant.

Their misadventures were unbelievable to say the least.

"But I'm happy that it has," Kiyoshi said before his eyes bugged out. "Not about the murders-I didn't mean that."

"I know." Narukami said finding his reaction a little amusing.

"R-Right, what I'm happy about is… I got to face myself in a way," Kiyoshi said looking at the window as the rain pelted it. "Yes it was scary and embarrassing but it feels like a huge weight is gone because of it."

Kiyoshi then went red and messed with his glasses.

"Aw man what's with me?" He muttered thinking he was annoying Narukami by talking about this. "Sorry if I'm bothering you."

"Don't apologize," Narukami said with a frown. "You're not bothering anyone, it's nice talking with you."

On hearing that, Kiyoshi felt his eyes go wet before he looked away. "Thanks." He muttered feeling like he could depend on Narukami a bit before an idea came to him. "Hey uh while we're on the subject of the team, what do you think of the idea of a follow up attack on a Shadow or would that be too risky?"

Narukami looked interested in the idea. "Tell me more."

As they spoke, Kiyoshi couldn't help a thought that went through his head one that he has tried to avoid thinking about since he got his Persona.

Would they stay friends once they catch the guy or would they go their separate ways?

 _ **Thursday April 28th, 2011**_

 _ **-After School-**_

Band practice went on pretty well with Kiyoshi being given a flute as he sat next to Ayane, having messed up a few times but he was getting the notes down quickly.

In fact he was feeling a little more confident in this.

Maybe he should've joined Band a year ago?

Putting the flute he used up after cleaning it out, Kiyoshi saw Ayane approaching. "You look tired Senpai." She mentioned with him rubbing the back of his head.

He spent the other night looking up Flute notes and where to position his fingers to play them as he was told what instrument he would play.

"It's n-nothing, just the w-weather that's bothering me." Kiyoshi said knowing the foggy day was fast approaching.

"Oh… But you have a great tone with the flute, were you being serious about not playing before?" Ayane asked with a smile.

Kiyoshi gave a nod happy that studying the instrument proved useful, but he wouldn't go as far to say he had a great tone because he did mess up a few times.

Ayane went red. "Oh sorry, I know that doesn't mean much coming from me."

Now Kiyoshi was confused. "What are you t-talking about, you were great."

That caught Ayane by surprise. "W-What?"

"I-I was right n-next to you Matsunaga-San, how can you say you're not good?"

"I was sticking out today," Ayane said sadly. "I've been playing for awhile but you've only played for one day, I wish I had as much talent as you Senpai."

Okay seriously was he like this with the others?

Trying to think of what to say, Kiyoshi laughed. "Talent? No it's effort that matters." He was beginning to find it easy to talk to Ayane without stuttering which he views as a win.

After a minute thinking over his words, Ayane gave a nod looking to be in high spirits. "Y-You're right! Just because I'm talentless doesn't mean I should give up!"

Kiyoshi just stared. ' _I didn't say you were talentless._ '

But the excitement died down as Ayane looked away. "But we have another trombone player here. Takeru-Senpai, he's really good so he always gets picked for the performances," She admitted. "That's why I've never gone to one. But it doesn't matter… I can't play in front of an audience anyways."

The more she spoke the more Kiyoshi felt that they were pretty much the same and he wanted to help her like how the others helped him.

"Sorry, I shouldn't bother you with this, I better get this all picked up before I go home." Ayane said as once more the clean-up looked to be too much for her alone.

So he got to work helping her catching Ayane by surprise.

"Senpai you shouldn't worry about this." Ayane said not used to someone helping her like this.

"It's what friends do." Kiyoshi said forcing himself to not stutter.

"Senpai." Ayane smiled. "Thank you."

 _ **Friday April 29th, 2011**_

 _ **-Late Night-**_

Kiyoshi was nervous as he stood in his room.

The news earlier that evening warned them of a heavy fog that would come through Inaba the next morning and that put him and the others on edge as they spoke to one another.

This was it.

If they succeeded in saving Yukiko it would show in a few moments.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, Kiyoshi looked out the window to see that the fog was already setting in and he noticed his hand was shaking.

What if they actually failed? No they shouldn't have because Yukiko gained a Persona… But they wouldn't know for sure until the foggy day passed.

Oh man what would they do if a dead body did end up out there?

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed the TV as the midnight channel was on showing nothing on the screen.

… It showed nothing.

They did it.

Kiyoshi let out a sigh of relief and checked the chat.

 _ **{Inaba Investigation Team}**_

Hanamura: Nothing, so does that mean we succeeded?

Narukami: I believe so.

Narukami: What do you think Satonaka-Chan?

Satonaka: I just got off the phone with Yukiko, she's returning to school tomorrow, she's fine.

Kiyoshi: Well that's a relief.

Hanamura: Still we're not out of the woods.

Narukami: Right a dead body could still show up.

Kiyoshi: So until it passes expect the worst?

Satonaka: Well I'm going to sleep, worrying about that was exhausting.

Hanamura: I hear ya, see you all tomorrow.

 _ **{End Chat}**_

Kiyoshi put his phone up and contemplated going to sleep but shook his head.

He was too wound up to sleep.

Besides they needed to celebrate and his boxed lunches last time were destroyed so he'll make some to bring to them the next day, something to commemorate what happened.

' _Good thing Dad is still at work._ '

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **First update of the new year, hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed typing it.**_

 _ **Especially because it showed Kiyoshi doing things outside of the Investigation Team which includes Track-yes there will be a point where Nanashi and Kiyoshi discover the truth about each other and he is the MC from Shin Megami IV Apocalypse if no one really guessed it, how he's there will be elaborated on at a later date let's just say it's like the DLC where the other MC ended up in the Apocalypse world.**_

 _ **Also he joined the Music Club because it's the one that isn't used that much in fics and I felt that it was a little unfair that while Narukami would help Yumi in the Drama club it left Ayane without anyone to help her out, that's why I had Yosuke go for the Soccer Team while Narukami was in Basketball.**_

 _ **So Kiyoshi is trying to be more sociable outside of the group and I hope you liked his two Social Link moments with Narukami as it revealed a bit more about his character to the silver haired wildcard and we finally had Kiyoshi's father being shown in this chapter along with the reveal of who he works for.**_

 _ **Oh and yes there might be a SEES/Investigation Team partnership in later chapters.**_

 _ **So let's get to the reviews.**_

 _ **Child-of-God16: Okay wow, I didn't expect to get a review like this-I can understand why you're saying all of this but I like to keep religion out of what I type and writing fanfiction helps a lot with everything going on. Thank you for the heads up though and good luck with everything.**_

 _ **KatoriAeku: Haha thank you, it was pretty fun to type this story with both the games and the Anime as a reference-this chapter being more about the game however. I'm happy that you like Kiyoshi because I felt like he was a bit of a relatable MC for a story with how nervous some people could be. Yeah I get that about the reviews, but it's just that when I post a chapter and don't get a review I worry about if people actually enjoy the story-to be honest I'm amazed I managed to get past five chapters without a review because in the past I wouldn't have been able to do that. Don't worry I won't get discouraged because I love typing this story-speaking of Persona stories I need to read yours again, I have a hard time reading other stories with the want to keep typing so I feel bad I haven't reviewed yours in awhile.**_

 _ **ARSLOTHES: I can see that happening but I think I'll wait a bit before doing the whole pairing thing for this story, thank you.**_


	9. Down with the King

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 09: Down with the King**_

 _ **Saturday April 30th, 2011**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Kiyoshi smiled as Yukiko was back in her seat that morning, talking with Chie.

A body didn't show up either which meant everything they did was worth it.

They saved a life and thwarted the killer… For now.

It was still too early to truly celebrate because the killer was still out there and they had no idea who it would be and no clues besides the fact that the Midnight Channel was involved.

Narukami already texted into the Group Chat that they would meet up on the school roof after school to discuss what happened with Yukiko, hopefully she would remember something about her disappearance that would give them some sort of lead.

' _I wonder how Teddie is doing?_ ' Kiyoshi thought as they haven't seen Teddie for almost two weeks after rescuing Yukiko, he felt a little bad for that if he was being honest.

Maybe they should visit the bear more often.

Looking up, Kiyoshi saw their teacher Yamada-Sensei entering the room as he began to take roll before speaking. "Hm? Yukiko-San is back? That's good, I'm glad the only cutie in class was able to return," The man said tactlessly. "Don't you guys agree?"

Yukiko looked embarrassed while Chie, Yosuke, Kiyoshi and Narukami frowned at the man who seemed to realize his blunder.

"Ooops, I mean all of you are cute, no really," Yamada-Sensei said panicking before he realized he made it sound worse. "Er please don't tell your parents I said that will ya? I don't want to get into trouble."

' _Geez he's worse than me at times._ ' Kiyoshi thought finding the man a little pitible.

 _ **-After School-**_

"Here you go," Kiyoshi said bringing the Bento Boxes out when they were on the roof. "I figured since the original batch got covered in wax I could try again."

"Well alright." Yosuke said with a grin as he was feeling pretty hungry.

Narukami gave a polite nod of thanks but when Kiyoshi held Chie's out he saw that she hesitated.

"Is something wrong?" Kiyoshi asked looking over the bento, thinking he might've put something she didn't like in there.

He didn't think to ask if they were allergic to anything-a bad mistake on his part.

"No it looks good, but I already brought something, Yukiko has it since she brought she brought one for her as well." Chie said as Yukiko wouldn't take no for an answer in getting the hot water for their Instant Noodles.

Kiyoshi blinked, shrugging in acceptance right as Yukiko came up with the two steaming bowls of noodles.

"The Soba is yours right Chie?" Yukiko asked with Chie grinning.

"Thanks, oooh that smells so good," Chie said with Kiyoshi giving a chuckle at how she was being. "These Instant Noodles are just the thing to get me through club… How much longer do I have to wait on this?"

"It still needs a few more minutes." Yukiko said a smile gracing her face.

With that said she sat next to Chie while everyone relaxed before Yosuke coughed. "Amagi-San, I hate to bring up stuff you'd rather not talk about, but we have to ask," He said with an awkward, apologetic expression. "Do you recall anything about when you got kidnapped?"

Yukiko looked down with a forlorn expression. "No, I thought I might remember something if I let it sit for awhile, but as time passed it only got hazier," She said, thinking on it for a bit. "I think… the doorbell rang at the entrance and someone called for me. After that the next thing I remember is waking up at the castle. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Chie said confidently as she was just happy that Yukiko was safe. "But does that mean the visitor was the culprit?"

"If it was that's one daring criminal," Yosuke voiced having some doubts. "What kind of criminal would ring the doorbell?"

"Either a cocky one or perhaps that's the idea," Kiyoshi cupped his chin with a frown. "After all if the doorbell rang, especially during the day or at a business like the Inn who would expect for it to be the killer?"

"True enough and the Police are probably looking for witnesses, but I don't think we can expect much from them considering the truth about this whole thing," Yosuke sighed wondering not for the first time if they were getting in over their head-a thought that's been troubling him since they almost died countless times already before he chuckled. "Heh, if only the culprit wore bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime."

"That would be too easy." Kiyoshi snorted at the idea.

"I wonder why whoever it is would do something like this." Chie mused in confusion.

"Why do people do anything like this in general?" Kiyoshi asked as he didn't understand that.

Yosuke shrugged in answer. "We won't know unless we confront them ourselves," He said giving a sigh whilst crossing his arms. "But we can be sure of one thing, it's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place."

"The question is how this person can do this," Narukami spoke up being silent for most of the conversation in his own thoughts. "It's possible that whoever is doing this has their own Persona."

"And we don't know if it's a single guy or a group." Kiyoshi added in what he thought about.

"Now there's a terrifying thought," Yosuke muttered, paling slightly. "Still we can't just let it go even if it is a group or another person with a Persona, it's murder after all."

Yukiko looked a little lost but quickly understood as Chie did explain a few things while she was bedridden because the meat-loving tomboy visited her a lot.

"Oh right we never told you, Narukami-San, Kiyoshi-San and I are going to catch the culprit ourselves," Yosuke elaborated, seeing Yukiko's lost look. "The Police are completely out of their league with this case considering they can't enter the other world, but we have our Personas."

"You don't have to worry we'll get them." Narukami said to reassure Yukiko as he felt it would be a terrifying thought to be on the lookout for anyone attempting to finish the job.

Kiyoshi gave a nod, acting more confident than he felt.

"O-Okay." Yukiko said a bit embarrassed but flattered that they were looking out for her.

"I'm helping too," Chie declared throwing a fist up into the air. "I can't believe that someone would throw someone into a place like that. I'm going to sock whoever's doing this."

"Chie," Yukiko looked surprised before thinking on how she always did nothing and sat around instead of taking stuff into her own hands and a determined expression came across her face. "Let me help too."

That earned some surprised looks from the others.

"I want to know why this is happening," Yukiko explained her reasoning to them. "Especially if someone hates me enough to want to kill me. I don't want to run away from myself anymore."

"If she does join then we have another Persona to add to the ranks," Kiyoshi voiced seeing no downside to her helping them. "Plus having more people would help."

Narukami being the leader gave a nod, accepting Yukiko's help as Yosuke stood up. "Alright! Then let's all work together to catch this asshole!"

Everyone glanced around with excited, determined expressions as they gained a new ally to their search for the killer as that meant their group got stronger.

With all of them working on this, the Killer doesn't stand a chance.

"But how are we going to find them when we don't have any leads yet?" Chie asked the big question taking the wind out of their sails.

"I'm the third one to be targeted so far, but I have the feeling it won't be the end of it." Yukiko tried to think of something.

Kiyoshi frowned. "Three victims," He mused thoughtfully. "You would think there would be a connection by now."

"Let's think then what ties the victims together?" Yosuke asked getting into the discussion. "We have Mayumi Yamano the first victim followed by S-... Saki-Senpai who was the second victim."

None of them missed how Yosuke hesitated when Saki came up as Yosuke tried to hide the pain to focus.

"Then we have the attempted murder with Amagi-San," Yosuke said his eyes lighting up as he thought of a connection but wanted to see if anyone else got it. "What's the connection?"

"They're all female." Narukami said without any hesitation seeing the same connection with Yosuke nodding.

"Exactly."

Needless to say that pissed Chie off. "How dare he targets females, the culprit must be some sort of pervert."

"Wait, didn't Amagi-San and Konishi-San have something in common with Yamano-San?" Kiyoshi asked in confusion thinking on that a bit more.

Yosuke gave another nod as they were definitely getting somewhere. "Exactly Senpai found the body and the announcer stayed at the Amagi Inn-it's not much of a connection but it's something to consider."

"But why would females connected to Yamano's case be targeted?" Yukiko didn't get it despite seeing the connection. "What would the motive be?"

Kiyoshi groaned as he couldn't think of anything else, so Narukami spoke up. "They also appeared on the Midnight Channel before they disappeared so we need to keep an eye on that in case the Culprit strikes again."

"Right like a ransom note, didn't a classmate say something about the announcer being his soulmate before she died?" Yosuke asked looking at Chie for confirmation as she gave a nod remembering that day.

"Yeah I heard that the day Narukami-Kun transferred to the school."

Narukami for his credit looked surprised but thought about it a bit more. "So until the Midnight Channel comes on we won't be able to do anything."

"Which means it's the culprits move." Kiyoshi said thinking of this like a chess game now.

Kind of insensitive but it was the best way he could describe it as they did all they could for now. They had no other clues and as much as they hate the idea of waiting it was all they could do.

Seeing that they couldn't get any farther, Chie gave a gasp as she realized the noodles were done so she began to eat leaving for the others to grab their meals as they were all feeling pretty hungry.

"Oh this is so good." Chie said slurping the noodles.

"Fried Tofu." Yukiko agreed liking her noodles.

"Forget the noodles you're missing out here." Yosuke said trying some of the food in the Bento. "Kiyoshi-San I didn't realize you could cook well."

Kiyoshi felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "I had a lot of practice." He said thinking of all the times he had to cook for himself. "Besides they can keep the bento boxes for later if they want."

He did make it for them after all.

Chie brightened up no longer feeling guilty about bringing her own food. "Thanks Kiyoshi-Kun."

Narukami hummed as he silently ate. "Want to trade recipes?" He asked curiously considering he was thinking of cooking for his cousin Nanako at home due to the fact his Uncle usually stayed late at work.

He was already a very decent cook himself but he figured it wouldn't hurt to do that.

Kiyoshi looked surprised by the offer but gave a nod liking the idea of expanding his culinary skills because Narukami probably had some recipes he hasn't tried due to being from the City.

"You can cook too partner?" Yosuke asked not expecting that. "Well you do seem pretty good with your hands-er never mind."

Narukami just let that unintended innuendo slide while Kiyoshi felt his face heat up at hearing something like that before Chie continued their conversation. "Back to the case though I wonder what kind of person the Culprit is."

"If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing," Yosuke brought up, swallowing some of his food. "Maybe it was the lovers wife."

"But Misuzu Hiiragi had a solid alibi didn't she? And it seemed like she was already separated from her husband," Chie poked some holes in that theory. "Plus wasn't she overseas when the body was found?"

Kiyoshi hummed in agreement. "Besides wasn't she the one to break the news to the public? Who would do that if you had murder on the mind?"

"Got a point there." Yosuke looked unsure about his theory now. "But what I don't get is why target Senpai when she only found the body? Surely she couldn't have noticed anything that the Police overlooked."

"Perhaps it was a coincidence?" Narukami theorized, Yosuke frowning at that idea. "Wrong place, wrong time sort of thing."

"That… Seems the most likely." Yosuke hated that idea but knew it made the most sense.

"You know we should talk to Teddie, perhaps he has an idea." Chie said making them go quiet as they realized they haven't seen him since rescuing Yukiko.

"Now I feel guilty." Yosuke muttered considering they left him alone for awhile.

…

It didn't take long for them to get inside of the TV since there was nothing going on in the Electronics Store as Yukiko looked around in awe. "Wow, this really is inside of the TV."

Now that she wasn't dazed and confused she could feel a lot of fascination from how they were literally in another world. It was mind boggling.

Slowly, squeaky footsteps approached as Teddie looked happy to see them. "Are you feeling better, Yuki-Chan?" Teddie asked hopefully. "I did what you said, I've been a good bear."

Initially surprised, Yukiko remembered how the others explained about Teddie and smiled at him. "Oh, I see. Good boy."

Teddie gained a happy expression while Yosuke looked a bit weirded out before he spoke. "W-Well this bear is part of the reason we want to find the culprit."

"I see, well I'm part of the group now so let's work well together." Yukiko said politely to Teddie who grinned.

"I was thinking the same thing Yuki-Chan, which is why I got these ready for you." Teddie pulled out a pair of red glasses.

"Oh so these are what everyone is wearing. Thank you Teddie," Yukiko said putting them on, gasping as she did so. "Whoa, the fog really is gone just like you said."

"Police and Detectives might get badges but we get these cool glasses." Kiyoshi said fingering his with a grin.

He really liked them.

"Hey I've been meaning to ask, how come you've got so many pairs of them?" Chie asked curiously.

"Well I have to do something to keep me occupied." Teddie pulled out quite a few of them, accidentally dropping a pair that caught Yukiko's attention as she picked it up, none of them noticing that she swapped her glasses out.

"Ahaha, how do I look?" The sudden laughter made them look at Yukiko and whatever they were expecting paled in comparison to the reality as she seemed to be wearing a pair of gag glasses with a huge nose and a mustache.

"Pffft." Kiyoshi barely kept himself from busting a gut not expecting this at all.

"Y-Yukiko?!" Chie was wondering where she even got those.

"Oh I must've dropped that, it's a pair I screwed up on." Teddie said with a nervous laugh.

"It looks natural on you." Narukami had a faint grin on his face seeing that she was smiling.

"Ahahaha! Awesome." Yukiko said stunning just about everyone by how she was acting. "I want to wear this one, it even has a nose guard."

Kiyoshi couldn't hold it anymore as he fell on his back laughing, just the thought of Yukiko fighting Shadows while wearing that was enough for the usually reserved teen to break his composure.

"Ahahahahaha! Oh God, I can't-pft-hahahaha!" Kiyoshi couldn't breathe with Yosuke slowly taking a step away from him as if he had the plague a bit freaked by everything going on.

"How beary unfortunate, that pair doesn't have the right lenses in them." Teddie mused surprised by how Yukiko liked it. "I could make an actual pair for you."

"Please do," Yukiko requested before putting her real glasses on, holding the gag ones to Chie. "Here, your turn."

Chie sighed in resignation. "Fine… Alright." With that she swapped the pair out and looked at everyone.

Kiyoshi coughed as he tried to breathe but seeing Chie's serious, slightly annoyed expression while wearing the gag glasses sent him back into hysterics. "S-Stop-hahahaha my ribs-oh man I can't." Now his legs were kicking the air.

Yukiko snorted, a big grin on her face. "Snrk… Heehee… Ahahaha, ahahahaha!" She grabbed her stomach joining Kiyoshi in laughing.

"How did it come to this?" Chie asked seeing what was happening.

"Y-Yukiko-San?" Yosuke asked because this was really freaking him out.

"There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits, I never thought she would do it when someone besides me was around," Chie said although she had a fond tone as this was showing that Yukiko was having fun with all of them as opposed to just her. "And it seems that Kiyoshi-Kun is having one as well… Still these stupid glasses are useless for investigating."

"Well it's good that they're in high spirits," Yosuke said pushing the freakiness of this away and looking on the bright sides. "... I guess?"

He looked towards Narukami to see his shoulders shaking before he let out a laugh joining them.

"Seriously is this contagious or something?!" Yosuke asked not expecting that from Narukami of all people.

"Oh stop my sides," Yukiko pleaded her laughter getting louder. "Ahahahahaha-Snrk-hahah my stomach."

 _ **Saturday April 30th, 2011**_

 _ **-Evening-**_

Kiyoshi was still chuckling to himself as he made it back home, taking his shoes off in the process.

That was the most fun he has ever had and while he was embarrassed that he broke down in laughing in front of everyone he doesn't regret it one bit.

He has… Friends.

Friends that he's pretty sure won't leave him hanging like everyone else. Yes that was still a fear for him but every day since getting his Persona he's been pushing it further into the back of his mind, enough to where he would someday not be afraid of it at all.

' _Okay tomorrow is Sunday so no school._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself, making it to his bedroom as he wondered what to do. ' _Last week I hung out with Nanashi-Senpai, but I doubt he would invite me to hang out twice in a row._ '

But perhaps he should take the initiative to find out more about that 'App' he overheard him talking about.

While he was holding some disbelief at hearing 'Demons' in that conversation as if they were real he was willing to suspend some disbelief considering the truth about the murder case.

Giving a yawn, Kiyoshi grabbed his notebook and began to study.

With Midterms coming up after Golden Week he wanted to be prepared.

 _ **Sunday May 1st, 2011**_

 _ **-Late Morning-**_

Kiyoshi sighed walking through the town early that morning.

He tried contacting Nanashi, but he returned a text saying he already had plans so his plan to find out more about the 'App' was currently derailed. So right now he was trying to find something to do.

The others were most likely taking care of some sort of business, Yosuke was taking care of some personal business but said he should be done in half an hour or something like that and he saw Narukami walking with Marie, not wanting to interrupt whatever conversation they were having.

He didn't know Amagi-San to hang out with her individually at the moment and he was pretty sure Chie said something about heading to Junes.

So right now he had to try and find his own thing.

' _Maybe I can visit Teddie._ ' Kiyoshi snapped his fingers before wincing as he did see a bit of a crowd while passing by Junes showing that it would be pretty busy.

Besides they promised that no one would go in alone.

Kiyoshi blinked however when he saw someone exiting the bookstore right when he passed it and the person gave a start at seeing him.

"S-Senpai." Ayane said looking startled, wearing a pink dress with a bright red jacket over it, carrying a white bag over her shoulders. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Truthfully just trying to find something to do," Kiyoshi said happy to see someone he knew that didn't look too busy. "Fine a good book?"

Ayane went red with embarrassment as she clutched her bag. "Y-Y-Yes."

Kiyoshi momentarily wondered what book she got to make her act like that but figured she didn't want to talk about it.

So instead he changed the conversation. "You know this is the first time I ran into you outside of school, what do you usually do?"

"Oh I uh," Ayane averted her gaze timidly not used to talking to anyone outside of school. "Usually go to the river to see the fish."

"That's pretty cool," Kiyoshi said thinking on that. "Have you ever seen the rumored Guardian?"

There was a pretty detailed rumor about a giant fish known as the Guardian residing within the river but not many people have seen it leaving for them to believe that it doesn't exist.

"N-N-No, but I hear about it a lot." Ayane said fidgeting a bit.

Kiyoshi waited before feeling awkward.

Right he was this bad a few weeks ago.

"You want some company?" Kiyoshi offered surprising himself but he meant it.

Perhaps he could help her out like how the others helped him?

Or maybe they can help each other?

"P-P-Pardon?" Ayane asked very surprised by the offer. "Y-You don't have to d-do that S-Senpai, you're probably busy."

Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really," He said thinking on that. "If you don't want me to come I understand."

"N-No that's not what I meant-I mean I didn't want to bother you." Ayane said quickly, tripping over her own words.

"If anything I would probably be bothering you." Kiyoshi said giving an awkward chuckle.

Great this could've gone better.

Fiddling with her bag, Ayane looked at Kiyoshi before averting her eyes, her cheeks flushing a bit. "I-I would like the company."

…

It had to have been the most awkward morning of Kiyoshi's life as the two of them were eventually at the Inaba River, any small talk was ended quickly.

"So how's your Trombone playing coming along?" Kiyoshi attempted to start another conversation the two standing at the banks.

"I-It's fine," Ayane said quietly. "I'm s-still making m-mistakes but I'm learning more."

She sat down and opened her bag to pull out another bag that had bread crumbs in it. After throwing some in the water to feed the fish, Ayane looked at Kiyoshi.

"What about you Senpai?" She asked referring to his flute.

"I've practiced whenever I had the chance," Kiyoshi said not saying he had to do it whenever his Dad wasn't around to avoid bothering him. "I have a lot to improve on though."

"W-We're the same in that regard." Ayane said giving a shy smile that Kiyoshi returned.

"Yeah I guess we are." Kiyoshi agreed with her.

This was nice… It wasn't like talking with the others because he had to really watch what he had to say but he liked talking to Ayane just like with Nanashi.

Grabbing a small pebble, Kiyoshi attempted to make it skip across the water like how he's seen on TV but it only sunk. "... Apparently skipping rocks is a talent I don't have." He said giving a sheepish laugh.

He heard a slight giggle from Ayane and took that as a sign that despite the awkwardness the two were becoming friends.

"What do you think they'll do for Music Club tomorrow?" Kiyoshi asked curiously with Ayane giving him a confused look. "What?"

Did he say something weird?

"Clubs won't go on until after finals Senpai." Ayane told him with Kiyoshi making an 'Oh' sound looking a bit sheepish.

"Right forgot about that, plus with Golden Week around the corner it makes sense." Kiyoshi laid on his back looking at the clouds.

Speaking of which.

"So you doing anything for Golden Week?" Kiyoshi asked curiously earning a 'meep' from Ayane who was obviously not expecting that question.

"W-W-Why do you a-ask?" Ayane asked nervously.

"Just curious Matsunaga-San," Kiyoshi said with a shrug now realizing how it sounded. "I plan on asking everyone else as well."

"Oh um," Ayane still looked red but she shook it off. "I-I don't have anything planned S-Senpai, what a-about you?"

"Same here," Kiyoshi gave a chuckle at the fact that he almost had no life after answering that one. "If you want to hang out you can give me a call."

"T-Thank you Senpai, b-but I don't have your number." Ayane reminded him.

"Oh right," Kiyoshi felt like slapping himself as he pulled his phone out. "Want to exchange numbers then?"

From the way Ayane's face went red, Kiyoshi was certain that he needed to learn how to phrase stuff better.

His phone vibrating, Kiyoshi checked it to see that it was Narukami in the chat asking form them to gather at Junes. "Hey I need to go, you going to be alright out here by yourself?"

Ayane gave a nod and smiled. "Thank you Senpai, today was fun."

Now it was Kiyoshi's turn to flush. "N-No problem."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, what's the emergency?" Kiyoshi asked as all of them were at Junes.

"Not an emergency really, I called everyone together to see how you all felt about training in the other world." Narukami spoke up surprising them while keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard.

"Training?" Yosuke asked not expecting that.

"Satonaka-San was the one who put the idea in my head awhile ago," Narukami elaborated the Tomboy giving a grin at hearing that. "It wouldn't do to just go in there when someone is missing, especially if the Shadows just get stronger."

"No kidding we were lucky so far." Yosuke agreed thinking on how the battles with the Shadows got more and more difficult the further into the castle they went.

"Not only that but through it the four of us got used to fighting alongside each other, however Amagi-San has yet to do that, if she is going to be helping us catch the culprit then we need to work more on our teamwork." Narukami said showing that he's been thinking on this for awhile.

"I'm certain that I am behind everyone in terms of using my Persona, but I promise I won't slow you all down." Yukiko said with some determination wanting to prove herself in this training session.

"So what are we waiting for?" Chie asked fired up for some training.

…

"Sensei!" Teddie cheered as they all landed after entering the TV. "You've chose a beary good time to show up."

Narukami raised a brow. "How so?"

"A beary strong Shadow has appeared in the Castle," Teddie explained making the others worried. "As far as I can tell it's staying in the room where you fought Yuki-Chan's shadow."

"Think it's related to the culprit?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"Could be, but the question is how strong is it." Yosuke was unsure if he wanted to know the answer to it.

"Whether it's related to the Culprit or not we could use this as the training," Narukami voiced his plan. "We'll fight through the shadows on the lower floors first and if we're feeling confident by the time we get there we'll take care of it."

"Bring it on." Chie cheered looking confident as she was moving in place, looking ready for a fight.

"Um do we have to go to the castle?" Yukiko looked a bit unnerved and honestly no one could blame her.

"It's the only place we could safely fight the Shadows." Narukami told her with the girl giving a nod showing that she understood. "We'll leave in a moment, I need to stop by the Velvet Room."

Kiyoshi quirked a brow as Narukami did tell them about this so-called Velvet Room where he's able to do some stuff with his other Personas, something about fusing them together to make stronger ones.

Although they were all a bit skeptical about it, they didn't necessarily put the idea of this room existing down considering the strange stuff they've seen so far.

Plus if Narukami got stronger Personas that increases their chances of survival against these Shadows.

Still didn't stop it from looking like Narukami was staring off into space once he reached the corner of the room.

"Man he really isn't here." Yosuke remarked waving a hand in front of Narukami. "... Anybody have a pen?"

"Seriously Hanamura? We're not going to write on his face." Chie said with a frown.

Yukiko gave a slight snort, finding the idea a little funny but she agreed with Chie.

"So how do you think this multiple Persona thing of his works?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"Not a clue." Yosuke said as he was a little envious of that particular ability but he didn't voice it as he felt that if anyone of them could've gotten that ability it was Narukami who got it.

"Oh right I forgot he could do that." Yukiko said remembering how Narukami did that when they fought her Shadow.

"Speaking of Personas, you going to summon yours Yukiko?" Chie asked with Yukiko giving a nod before she reached into her bag and pulled a fan out confusing the others.

Focusing, the Priestess Tarot Card appeared before Yukiko sliced it with the Fan. "Persona!"

Konohana Sakuya appeared in a ring of flames, looking around as Yukiko smiled at her Persona.

"Hello Konohana Sakuya," Yukiko greeted her Persona with a polite bow. "I hope we work well together."

Konohana Sakuya tilted her head as she placed a hand on Yukiko's shoulder to show support.

"Looks awesome." Yosuke mused right as Narukami came back to reality, blinking at the Persona being out.

"What did I miss?"

* * *

It didn't take long for them to figure out Yukiko's specialty when they entered the Castle as she seemed pretty good at using Agi-related spells and had a lot of energy along with some healing spells.

As such she took over Yosuke's position as the healer of the group and was actually well caught up with them in terms of strength which showed that her strength was comparable to her Shadows.

From then on there weren't really any issues with Narukami deciding to have one person hang back with Teddie while four fought, something about taking turns as they tried fighting with all five and that threw them off since there wasn't much room to move around like that.

Currently Kiyoshi was the person hanging back as at first it was Chie but after a few Shadows, Narukami felt it would be a good idea to switch out for Yosuke and then him.

Narukami himself actually got rid of a few of his Persona's, the only one he kept was Izanagi but the others he kept were called Jack Frost, Eligor, Archangel, Ippon-Datara and Titan.

If that wasn't proof that something happened while he was zonked out, Kiyoshi didn't know what was.

But he was more amazed that Yukiko was able to fight effectively with a freaking fan, although it was used more as a focus to use her Persona related skills.

"We did it." Yukiko said with a smile after they took down yet another Shadow.

"You're getting the hang of this Amagi-San." Yosuke complimented, taking his headphones off now that the battle was over.

"I guess it comes natural." Yukiko commented with a smile.

"Are you good to continue?" Narukami asked considering they were on the last floor before the throne room and could see the stairs.

"I'm fine let's do this." Yukiko said wanting to finish this Shadow and get out of here.

While she was happy to be proving herself in this training session they had going she loathed this castle and wanted to leave it.

But they had to take care of this Shadow before it could truly become a problem and if there's a chance that it's linked to the Murders they needed to take it.

"Just don't push yourself Yukiko." Chie said in worry which Yukiko smiled at her friend's concern.

"At least the room will be big enough for all of us to fight in." Kiyoshi commented with them going up the stairs.

On entering the room however they saw a Shadow that looked like a giant Condiment King eliciting annoyed scowls.

"Great one of these." Yosuke muttered twirling his fake daggers no doubt remembering the few weaker ones they fought coming up the stairs.

"Careful this one is much stronger than any of the Shadows all of you have fought so far," Teddie warned, his ears twitching nervously. "It's a Contrarian King!"

Narukami gave a nod and like that they surrounded the Shadow as the Contrarian King made the first move by making a red shield appear around it.

"That's Red Wall, now fire won't do much damage." Teddie explained with Yosuke smirking as he remembered the Green Wall that Chie's Shadow did.

"So it's weak to fire?"

"Alright Amagi-San as soon as the wall drops hit it," Narukami ordered. "Kiyoshi-San slow him down, Hanamura-San you speed everyone up. Satonaka-San hit it with a Skull Cracker to confuse it."

He gave those orders as he quickly summoned Izanagi.

"Rakunda!" Energy surrounded the Contrarian King as it's physical form grew more susceptible to damage.

"On it." Everyone said following the orders with rapt attention, Yukiko however healed Chie as using Skull Cracker did damage her a bit.

Sadly the Contrarian King wasn't confused from the hit as it quickly slammed its staff forward catching Jiraiya who was too slow to dodge the attack nearly knocking Yosuke out showing what it specialized in.

"Oh no Yosuke's in trouble, it's physical strength is enormous!" Teddie panicked with Narukami quickly using Rakukaja to increase his own defense while Chie helped him up and Yukiko healed him, although Dia didn't heal all the damage.

"Man what a pain." Yosuke muttered shaking his head. "Alright Garu!"

Much to their surprise however the wind attack did nothing so Kiyoshi tried Eiha but much like Garu nothing happened.

"It's immune to wind and curse attacks!"

'Now you tell us!' Kiyoshi cursed himself finding his element to be useless yet again but didn't let that stop him as he quickly used Double Fang, Diaborosu slamming into the Contrarian King twice.

Chie took advantage of it's distraction to cast Tarukaja on herself before unleashing another Skull Cracker making it stumble now purple.

"He's confused that means you'll have an easier time!" Teddie cheered right as the Red Wall dissipated.

"My turn, Konohana Sakuya!" Yukiko focused as Agi slammed into the Contrarian King but much to their shock it healed its injuries and snapped it out of its confusion.

"Oh no it absorbs fire, it only used Red Wall to trick us!" Teddie held his head. "What a rotten trick!"

His eyes widened in fear.

"Watch out it's doing Rampage!"

That was all the warning they got before a force of energy slammed into them, only Yosuke and Chie were fast enough to dodge while Narukami fell to one knee, nearly knocked out as his raised defense saved him.

Kiyoshi and Yukiko however slammed into the wall and fell over, their Persona's disappearing.

"Ah Sensei you're nearly down! Hisoka and Yuki-Chan are unconscious this is unbearable!"

"Partner!" Yosuke quickly cast a Dia on Narukami giving him enough strength to stand up.

"Thanks, Satonaka try and confuse him again," Narukami ordered forgoing the Honorifics as this wasn't the time for them. "Hanamura here!"

He tossed him a Revival Bead one of the items they got from the multiple chests they found in the Castle, Teddie explaining that mundane items act as fast healing ointments in the TV world and Revival Beads were the equivalent of Smelling Salts.

"You get Kiyoshi while I get Amagi." Narukami ordered with them moving quickly while Chie kept the Contrarian King busy.

"Bufu!" Chie shouted in anger that her friends were hurt, the ice having some effect on the Shadow but not enough.

Making it to Kiyoshi, Yosuke squeezed the Revival Bead as it broke above the reserved teen, energy surrounding him as he woke up. "You alright?" The brunette asked his classmate who groaned.

"That depends can I go back to sleep?"

Yosuke cracked a smile while Narukami succeeded in waking Yukiko up and she frowned before focusing. "Media!" The Priestess focused as energy surrounded everyone healing them.

The Contrarian King finally got a lucky hit on Tomoe, knocking her into Jiraiya making both Chie and Yosuke hiss in pain.

' _ **You need to weaken his strength,**_ ' Diaborosu spoke in Kiyoshi's head as he felt energy gather. ' _ **Do it.**_ '

Kiyoshi focused as his Persona appeared once more, a new word coming to him. "Tarunda!"

As the energy surrounded the Shadow, Teddie cheered. "His strength is weakened that makes this all the more bearable."

"Can it with the bear jokes." Yosuke hollered as he had Jiraiya do a Sonic Punch and that was enough to knock the Shadow off its feet.

"Everyone now!" Narukami ordered all of them going in on the Shadow, Yukiko hanging back to heal not wanting to use any fire related skills.

The Contrarian King quickly recovered and used another Rampage to knock everyone back but thanks to Tarunda it wasn't as strong as before leaving for Yukiko to quickly heal with Media.

Yosuke tried another Sonic Punch but it didn't work as well as last time, having Jiraiya grab him out of the way of a staff strike while Kiyoshi used Eiha to get its attention despite the attack not affecting it.

Narukami was switching between his Persona's using different skills to either weaken the Shadow or increase their own strengths, with Yukiko healing leaving the actual damage to Yosuke, Chie and Kiyoshi with them using their physical skills.

That's not to say that none of them were knocked out again as it got a lucky strike on Yosuke but they used another Revival Bead to bring him back before Chie had enough.

"Stop with the damn Rampage!" Chie shouted her anger unlocking something in Tomoe as she managed to set off the same attack knocking the Contrarian King off its feet leading for them to quickly lay into it.

"Come on die already!" Yosuke complained as the Contrarian King got back up before quickly directing an attack on Yukiko and she was now glowing red.

"Ah Yuki-Chan is very angry!" Teddie looked worried when Yukiko actually physically attacked the Shadow without her Persona. "She can't think straight."

"It knows that Amagi is our healer." Kiyoshi muttered using a video game term while Narukami switched to Oberon to use Me Patra the spell snapping Yukiko out of her rage, but she was still glaring at the Shadow that was drooping showing that it was nearly dead.

But it wasn't going down without a fight as it went to hit Narukami but Yosuke quickly pushed him out of the way, taking the blow nearly getting knocked out showing that if it hit Narukami he would've been out due to his injured state.

"Hanamura!" Narukami looked at his friend in worry who slowly pushed himself up.

"Don't worry Partner, I have your back." Yosuke promised ignoring the pain.

' _This is insane._ ' Kiyoshi thought checking with Diaborosu to see that they were all extremely low on energy.

Teddie was right in this being their toughest battle yet as it was the only Shadow to knock any of them out.

Yukiko quickly rushed to Yosuke to take care of his injuries while Narukami quickly used Oberon to heal himself knowing that if he was knocked out this could be bad considering it seemed to be focusing more on him and Yukiko than anyone else.

That left for Kiyoshi and Chie to keep its attention on them with a Double Fang and a Rampage.

Turns out that was enough as the Shadow began to spaz out before literally exploding into fog as it dissipated showing they beat it.

"Victory!" Teddie cheered them on as they all collapsed in exhaustion.

"No more TV please." Kiyoshi muttered wanting to sleep.

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Haha new chapter of this with interactions, story development and one of the optional bosses in the game, the Contrarian King who is a pain in the ass if you chose to go after him after beating Yukiko's Shadow-seriously it's bullshit at times.**_

 _ **But the Investigation Team managed to win and defeat it, along with learning new skills in the process and Narukami increasing his Persona abilities by gaining stronger ones in the process.**_

 _ **I have to say with typing Kiyoshi I think his development has come a long way so far as he's more talkative and open then he used to be-about certain things-and he's talking with more people outside of the group if his interactions with Nanashi and Ayane were anything to go by.**_

 _ **Oh and before anyone says anything his interactions with Ayane doesn't mean they're the main pairing as so far they're getting used to just being friends, it could evolve into something more or they would have a sibling relationship considering their similar personalities.**_

 ** _One more thing, I hope you liked the massive update I did today._**

 _ **So let's get the reviews done.**_

 _ **KatoriAeku: He might play into their investigation or it might be an adventure that Kiyoshi will have away from the Investigation Team with him doing his own thing, who can tell? Yeah I'm amazed she isn't featured in other fics as much and it is true that shy/quiet people are usually more at ease with others like them. Spicy relationship? Possibly but that depends on if it feels natural when I type it as for now they're just becoming friends. Yeah you did change your fic a lot holy crap.**_

 _ **Foxchick1: Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy this story.**_


	10. Golden Week

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, good thing because the series is awesome!**_

 _ **Summary: Hisoka Kiyoshi was an extremely quiet and subdued teen who was just getting by in life, but upon a new student transferring to Yasogami High, he got pulled into a Supernatural Murder Investigation that will change his life. Whether it's for the better remains to be seen.**_

 _ **Chapter 10: Golden Week**_

 _ **~Monday May 2nd, 2011~**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Kiyoshi won't lie.

He was freaking sore and he was pretty sure the others felt the same after that mess with the Contrarian King because that was ridiculous on how many times they were nearly killed in that fight alone.

Thankfully it was gone, they were definitely stronger from it considering their Persona's seemed to be learning some new skills after the fight.

Yosuke said that Jiraiya learned Magaru which was apparently the same as Garu except it had more of a range to hit more than one enemy much like Maragi and Mabufu that both Chie and Yukiko knew.

Diaborosu learned something similar after that annoying fight, something called Maeiha.

Still they were not going in at all during Golden Week unless they had to and Kiyoshi was grateful for that.

Kiyoshi couldn't help the slight groan as he sat down at his desk.

"You alright Kiyoshi?" Yosuke asked seeing that, turning towards the teen.

"Ask me tomorrow when I'm not sore," Kiyoshi muttered dryly before seeing how Yosuke didn't look bothered. "Okay how are you not sore?"

"You'd be surprised at the endurance you get working." Yosuke answered simply.

Kiyoshi just stared.

He's pretty sure there was a huge difference between working at Junes and getting thrashed by a Shadow.

But he kept that to himself.

"Mind you, I'm happy that tomorrow is the Holidays even if I have to work, you got any plans?" Yosuke asked curiously.

Kiyoshi shook his head, not voicing anything.

"Man are you really going back to being quiet?" Yosuke asked poking some fun with a grin before the door opened to show Narukami and Yukiko entering at the same time. "Ooh what do we have here?"

"Hm?" Yukiko looked puzzled by the question while Narukami just sat in his seat. "Is something wrong Hanamura-Kun?"

Yosuke went to question it but Chie walked in and he clammed up. "Now who's being quiet?" Kiyoshi remarked with a smirk.

Their conversation stopped when Morooka walked in showing that class was to begin. But as they were listening, Kiyoshi noted how Yosuke idly tilted his head to whisper something to Narukami making him give a silent chuckle while Chie and Yukiko were trading notes.

Seeing that made Kiyoshi frown as he realized that he was the odd one out in this group seeing how the four of them were more comfortable around each other.

So he looked down a bit disheartened by that, but resigned to it.

 _ **~Monday May 2nd, 2011~**_

 _ **-Lunchtime-**_

"Okay let's see there has to be a book that I haven't read here." Kiyoshi muttered to himself in the Library as he was having a hard time finding a book, ignoring the sound of the rain pattering on the window.

He was so caught up in his muttering that he didn't see someone enter the Library to grab a book, but that person stopped when they saw him and approached.

"Hey Kiyoshi-Kun." Chie greeted surprising Kiyoshi who snapped his head towards her in surprise. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh nothing really, just trying to find a book I haven't read before." Kiyoshi said pulling one off the shelf to inspect the summary. "I think I might've run out of books to read here so I'm starting to wonder if I should try to reread the whole-... What?"

He cut himself off when he saw that Chie was giving him an amused look.

"Nothing, it's just nice to hear you talk without stuttering." Chie pointed out with Kiyoshi blinking as he realized she was right.

He didn't stutter once while talking to her just now.

Wanting to keep this going, Kiyoshi quickly asked. "So what brings you to the Library?"

No offense to her but this was the last place he would expect for her to be. Especially since he figured she would keep hanging out with Yukiko given what's happened.

At hearing that question, Chie gave a sheepish laugh. "Uh well given how the exams are coming up I'm hoping to try and study." She said trying to play off that she would pass.

Then she snapped her fingers.

"Want to study together?" Chie offered once more surprising Kiyoshi. "It'll be easy to study with a friend after all."

Kiyoshi tilted his head as he was pretty confident in his studies as that was way ahead of his social skills, but he smiled. "Sure thing Satonaka-San." He said putting the book back on the shelf.

Studying or not, it would prove to be interesting.

"Alright, let's get to it." Chie did a fist pump before wincing as the librarian shushed her for being too loud.

Kiyoshi snickered a bit as they sat down.

 _ **~Monday May 2nd, 2011~**_

 _ **-After School-**_

"You would think the rain would relent even for a little bit." Kiyoshi ran as he kept a tight grip on his Umbrella.

Checking the Group Chat as he ran, Kiyoshi chuckled seeing how Narukami said something about attempting the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, resulting in him typing 'Good Luck' along with the others.

Narukami will need it.

He was so caught up in looking at his phone that he didn't see a person walk around the corner until he ran right into him. "Oof." Kiyoshi fell flat on his butt, the wet ground soaking it before he got up his social awkwardness kicking in once more seeing how this was someone he didn't know. "Sorry."

"It's cool you alright kid?" The guy who he bumped into looked to be a young adult with unkempt black hair, gray eyes and wearing a black suit with a crooked red tie, holding an umbrella over his head.

"Y-yeah," Kiyoshi said to the man. "Again sorry for that, I-I should've been watching where I was going."

"Hey I understand, getting out of school only for this to happen, it must stink," The guy said with a sigh as he held a hand out to feel some of the rain. "Not that there's much to do even if it was sunny."

Kiyoshi gave a nod.

"So I'm guessing you were texting your friends?" The guy asked curiously as Kiyoshi did have his phone out with the teen looking a bit sheepish.

"Yeah, just wishing a friend luck with the Mega Beef Bowl." Kiyoshi didn't see a reason to hide that.

The guy laughed. "Wow your friend must have a lot of confidence in himself." He said as he knew that was a lot.

"Narukami-Sama is always like that," Kiyoshi said missing how the man was really paying attention now. "Though I don't know if he would actually pull it off or not."

No one actually beat that challenge before.

"Naru-Are you talking about Narukami Yu?" The man asked surprising Kiyoshi. "I work with his Uncle. Man I know I always said this was a small town but what are the odds?"

"Oh?" Kiyoshi asked now seeing that this was a Detective given how Narukami did mention his Uncle being a Detective at one point.

"Well I won't take up much of your time, you probably have places to be." The guy said walking off. "Nice to meet you-er?"

"Kiyoshi, I'm Kiyoshi Hisoka." Kiyoshi said with the guy giving a nod.

"Adachi Tohru, nice to meet you," Adachi waved as he left. "Enjoy Golden Week."

As Adachi walked out of sight, Kiyoshi looked happy. "He seems pretty cool." He said as the man was nice despite being ran into.

…

By the time Kiyoshi got home an hour later, he hesitated when he heard the TV being on.

His Dad was home… And he could smell Sake in the air which meant he was drunk and from how the TV was just muted, he most likely heard the door open.

That was proven correct as there were footsteps before Katashi came into view, holding a cup, his tie undone a bit sloppily and the fact that he was walking straight showed that he hasn't drunk too much yet but it was enough as his eyes were a bit unfocused meaning that he was still buzzed a bit.

Kiyoshi was still tense however as he always made sure he stayed in his room whenever he could smell Sake to avoid any… Unpleasantness.

Still it was too late.

"Evening." Kiyoshi greeted softly.

"Was wondering where you were." Katashi slurred out a bit, taking another sip. "Make sure you don't drag any water in."

Kiyoshi gave a nod, removing his shoes while he closed his umbrella, keeping an eye on his Dad who was watching him.

That unnerved Kiyoshi because if his Dad was looking at him while drunk it meant a few things.

Something happened at the company and he was angry about it… Or he felt that Kiyoshi did something.

Taking the time to try and swallow the lump in his throat, not caring if his throat felt like sandpaper because of his nerves, Kiyoshi tried to give a smile, hoping that would be enough even if it came out as timid.

"Now what's this I hear about you joining a music club?"

Kiyoshi froze in surprise.

He never made any mention of that to his father, how the hell did he know?!

And more importantly, why would he care? Katashi never made an interest in what Kiyoshi did even when drunk, probably because of him being a shut in to keep to himself.

When Kiyoshi didn't answer, Katashi took another sip of his Sake. "I called up the school to see how your grades were doing," The man explained as he would always make sure where in the school rankings his son was and he wanted to see if he was telling the truth about Track. "Now I can accept the sport because it'll toughen you up but no son of mine is going to waste his time with music. Are we clear"

The message was certainly clear, he was telling Kiyoshi to quit the music club.

' _Why would you care about that?_ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think but his lack of an answer turned out to be the wrong thing to do, especially when Katashi walked over and was now looming over Kiyoshi making him tremble a bit before the man placed a hand on his shoulder and it was taking everything for Kiyoshi to not flinch.

"I believe that I asked you a question." Katashi said in a tone that meant trouble and that was before Kiyoshi winced with the man tightening his grip.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes s-s-s-s-sir," Kiyoshi stuttered out, his fear making him trip over his own words as he tried to answer. "C-C-C-Cr-Crystal cl-c-c-clear."

Katashi gave a nod and unmuted the TV signifying this conversation was over and Kiyoshi wasted no time rushing to his room upstairs to keep to himself, locking his door behind him.

' _Toughen you up._ '

Those were the words he would usually hear from his Dad, usually while he was drunk, but there were a few times when he was sober that he would use that.

' _You're too sensitive._ '

Kiyoshi gripped his arms ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he slid with his back to the door until he was sitting down, trying not to hyperventilate.

It's been awhile since he reacted like this… The day he accepted his Shadow.

He choked back a sob before he broke down, covering his mouth to avoid making his Dad come up.

 _ **~Tuesday May 3rd, 2011~**_

 _ **-Morning-**_

Kiyoshi grimaced as his phone was vibrating, waking him up.

Rubbing his eyes, he checked it to see a message from Chie saying that she, Narukami and Yukiko were at Junes where Yosuke was, asking if he wanted to come.

He hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Truth be told, after the other night he didn't really feel like being around anyone today.

His phone buzzed again and he saw that Chie was asking if he was there considering he wasn't responding before Narukami texted him, asking the same thing.

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Kiyoshi typed. ' _ **Sorry I just woke up, I'll head out there soon.**_ '

Not even waiting for a reply, he put his phone up and exited his room, listening carefully to see if his Dad was home before he deemed it safe and made his way to the bathroom to splash some water on his face before looking at his reflection.

There were some bags under his eyes showing his lack of sleep along with his eyes being bloodshot. No doubt the others would notice if they see him and Kiyoshi was tempted to say that he couldn't make it but that would just make them worry and he didn't want that.

Hesitaintly, Kiyoshi undid his school uniform that he was still wearing and winced when he saw a bruise on his shoulder.

He can't let anyone see this.

Moments later he was dressed up in his hoodie, his hair brushed to try and smooth it out before he headed out the door.

* * *

Kiyoshi saw them before they saw him, with the group at the same table where they would meet up at Junes to talk about the case should they need to. He could remember Yukiko asking if that was their special headquarters and he smiled, feeling a little better.

He still hesitated about joining them, especially when he saw a new person with them, it was a little girl much to his surprise who sat between Narukami and Chie.

The girl had brown hair tied in pigtails with pink ribbons, wearing a pink dress over a white turtleneck.

That meant that they couldn't talk about the case, but Kiyoshi didn't really want to intrude.

It wasn't up to him as Yosuke noticed him. "Yo Kiyoshi, you just going to stand there or what?" He asked in a joking tone making the others look his way.

"S-S-Sorry." Kiyoshi said and he saw them blink as he hadn't stuttered around them like that in awhile.

"You okay?" Narukami asked showing that he caught on immediately that something was off, not a surprise given how attentive he seemed to things.

Kiyoshi gave a nod as he sat between Narukami and Yukiko, across from Yosuke who sat between Yukiko and Chie.

He really was fine.

Narukami however frowned before relenting for now, he would ask again when he catches Kiyoshi alone.

"S-So what did I miss?" Kiyoshi asked looking between all of them.

"Well you should meet Nanako-Chan." Chie said gesturing to the little girl who fidgeted with the attention on her. "She's Narukami's cousin."

"Ah," Kiyoshi said surprised as he didn't know that Narukami had a cousin, but it made sense as to why the girl was with them now. "N-N-Nice to meet you."

Nanako gave a nod herself while Yosuke sighed. "But man why did you bring poor Nanako-Chan to a place like this on Golden Week?" He asked feeling sorry for how bored the girl must be.

"Well where else is there to go?" Chie asked with a quirked brow. "Besides you're just getting off work so it's a good place to meet up."

"She has a point." Kiyoshi threw in, forcing himself to act natural.

"I love Junes!" Nanako declared with a smile, stunning Yosuke.

"N-Nanako-Chan." Everyone could tell from Yosuke's tone at how happy he was to hear something like that since he usually gets grief over Junes being the cause of some of the stores closing down.

Nanako frowned after that declaration though. "But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere," She explained sadly. "We were going to make boxed lunches."

"Wow! You can make boxed lunches Nanako-Chan?" Yukiko asked impressed as she was still working on her cooking skills.

Nanako shook her head and glanced at Narukami, that action letting everyone know what she was implying if Chie's wide grin was anything to go by.

"Oh, so you're the family cook?" Chie asked in a teasing tone. "Pretty impressive, 'big bro'!"

Nanako froze. "B-Big bro?" She whispered to herself, glancing up at Narukami who idly scratched his cheek actually looking a bit embarrassed.

"Was that why you asked to trade recipes with me?" Kiyoshi asked curiously, a small grin forming on his face. "Now I'm curious in how well you cook."

Yosuke chuckled. "Probably really good considering how Nanako-Chan's not bothered by it."

"I'm a pretty good cook too, you know." Chie said with Kiyoshi blinking at that.

"You are?"

"Er, probably." Chie looked sheepish while Yukiko gave a snort, looking about ready to get into another laughing fit. "Hey I'm serious, if you asked I would make up boxed lunches, easy as pie!"

"Uhh, let me think about-No!" Yosuke deadpanned taking Yukiko's reaction as a good reason to decline.

"What makes you think I can't cook?!" Chie took offense to that.

Kiyoshi looked from Chie to the still laughing Yukiko. "Just a guess." He said dryly.

"Well let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie declared, not backing down from a challenge.

"My, my doth the lady protest too much?" Yosuke asked sarcastically, Chie clenching her teeth in annoyance while Kiyoshi actually looked interested in the idea. "And I never said I cooked."

"A cook-off sounds fun!" Kiyoshi actually had an excited tone before going red in the face when everyone looked at him. "R-Right?"

"Not much of a cook-off you would probably win, heck I would probably win anyway." Yosuke said showing his lack of faith in Chie's cooking skills.

"I can understand that." Yukiko revealed much to Chie's horror.

"What the-Yukiko?!" Chie gave her a betrayed look. "Back me up here!"

Yukiko laughed again at Chie's reaction.

"But if you guys do want to do a cook-off perhaps Nanako-Chan can be our judge?" Yosuke suggested finding this fun, especially with how invested in the idea everyone seemed to be. "Maybe we can make something that ranks up with your Mom's cooking!"

From the way Narukami tensed, Kiyoshi had a feeling that this conversation just turned into a landmine and he became nervous before Nanako looked down. "I don't have a Mom, she died in an accident."

The tension that surrounded the table at that moment was so thick that Izanagi probably couldn't cut through it with his Naginata with Yosuke having a look of instant regret on his face for bringing that up.

' _You could really feel the awkwardness._ ' Kiyoshi thought unsure of how this would go.

"Hey, Yosuke-." Chie whispered nudging him to break him out of his shocked regret.

"I see, uh… Sorry." Yosuke apologized for being insensitive about that.

Nanako quickly shook her head, seeing that he didn't mean anything bad about it. "It's okay, even if I don't have a Mom I have Dad with me."

Kiyoshi had to look down feeling a bit jealous.

It was clear that her Dad cared for Nanako despite losing his wife… Why couldn't his Dad be the same way?

"And now I have a brother too," Nanako surprised everyone by that as her cheeks were burning red. "And I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!"

"Y-Yeah?" Yosuke looked very relieved at how she reacted. "T-That's good."

"We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-Chan!" Chie promised with the girl smiling wider at that.

"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Yukiko brought up happy that the tense atmosphere was about gone at this point.

Pushing the small jealousy he felt down, Kiyoshi gave the girl a smile. "Any time, anywhere." He agreed with them.

Yosuke stood up rather quickly. "Come on, Nanako-Chan let's go get a soda." He offered wanting to make up for his tactlessness.

Nanako perked up at that. "Okay!" She said getting up to follow Yosuke, leaving for the others to let out sighs.

"That almost got awkward." Kiyoshi groaned out with Chie nodding.

"She's a strong girl." Yukiko remarked as many children would've been more bitter about admitting their Mom was dead, but to bounce back from it so fast and to even be happy showed strength.

Chie agreed with her. "Yeah, she's making me feel like I'm the little kid here," She said looking thoughtful before she stood up with a grin. "That's it, I'm going to get something for Nanako-Chan too!"

Kiyoshi blinked before grinning. "That's a great idea."

Though what would she like?

As he got up to follow the girls, he noted Nanako rushing back towards Narukami and smiled.

He might've been miserable last night but it was times like this that made him happy.

 _ **~Tuesday May 3rd, 2011~**_

 _ **-Evening-**_

Kiyoshi wasn't sure what he was doing as he walked by himself after separating from his friends.

He just didn't want to go home right now.

Just thinking about that made him remembered what Katashi told him.

He wanted him to quit the Music Club.

Now this really perplexed Kiyoshi because he had no idea why Katashi would care about something like that, was it because he was drunk or something else?

But he knew that if he wanted to avoid anything happening he should probably listen-.

"Oh Senpai!" Kiyoshi jerked his head up a bit at hearing that voice and looked across the street to see Ayane giving him a wave as she walked across while he felt a bit awkward.

Kiyoshi pushed that down. "Hey Matsunaga-San, how's Golden Week going for you so far?" He asked with a rather forced smile as he had a sudden thought.

If he quit Music Club he might lose a friend.

Ayane smiled at the question, while still looking a tad bit nervous it wasn't as bad as the last time they hung out showing that they were definitely getting used to each other. "It's going well Senpai, I've been spending it with my Mom." She said, fidgeting a bit. "H-How about yours?"

"Just went to Junes with the others." Kiyoshi said before doing a facepalm as he realized that Ayane wouldn't know who the others were and that showed with her curious look. "Right, I managed to make a couple of friends this last month and they invited me out."

Giving a slight cough, Kiyoshi smiled at Ayane.

"So you going somewhere?"

"Just the bookstore, I wanted to get a book that came out." Ayane said as she made a request to have a certain book be held for her the last time she went.

"Oh? What book?"

Ayane turned red.

… Okay seriously what is she reading?

"P-Promise you won't laugh?" Ayane asked with Kiyoshi giving a nod, agreeing to that. "Witchdetective."

She said that so quickly, Kiyoshi had to tilt his head. "Um can you repeat that?"

Ayane took a deep breath. "W-Witch Detective."

"Oh that comic series?" Kiyoshi asked with Ayane confirming it with a nod. "That's cool I've read a few of those before."

Ayane looked very surprised by that while Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah I know guys don't generally read them but I thought it was cool." Kiyoshi said with some hints of embarrassment. "I also read the Neo Featherman R comics too."

Hearing that, Ayane let out a giggle. "Y-You never struck me as someone to read those, Senpai."

' _A lot of people would say that._ ' Kiyoshi thought to himself before he began to steel himself. ' _How do I break it to Ayane that I'm quitting the Music Club?_ '

Maybe he could say that it wasn't for him and he was way too busy with some other stuff that came up at home? It wouldn't be unbelievable and they could still hang out outside of Music Club.

He didn't want to lose a friendship-.

"Senpai?" Ayane had her head tilted as he was quiet for quite a bit. "Is something wrong?"

Just say it… Just say it.

"N-No." Kiyoshi lied, losing any nerve to quit.

He couldn't… He'll just try to keep it a secret from his father.

 _ **~Wednesday May 4th, 2011~**_

 _ **-Afternoon-**_

Kiyoshi had his hands in his pocket while walking around Inaba, wondering how to spend this next day.

Last he checked Yosuke and Narukami were hanging out with Kou Ichijo and Daisuke Nagase who were members of the Basketball and Soccer team respectively, they also had Nanako with them and invited him but he declined not wanting to bother them.

And he knew that Chie and Yukiko were going to be hanging out, he didn't want to intrude on them.

Finally it seemed that Nanashi-Senpai was out of town for Golden Week, so he can't text him. So he was stuck on what to do.

Eventually however he found himself at a shrine where much to his surprise he could see a fox looking at him intently.

This fox looked pretty old given the number of scars that could be seen along with the faded handkerchief around its neck but it just bored its gaze into Kiyoshi who stared back.

For some reason he felt a sort of kinship with the fox before he snorted, putting that rather strange thought into the back of his mind.

He has weird thoughts sometimes.

"Hey there." Kiyoshi whispered walking over to the fox who surprised him by not taking off.

It even let him scratch its ears, pressing its head into his hand in the process making Kiyoshi chuckle.

The fox then gave a yowl making Kiyoshi jump as it took off towards the shrine, grabbing something before running back to Kiyoshi making him blink.

After a few seconds he could recognize the object it grabbed as an Ema that people usually leave in the shrines to make wishes or just to pray.

"You want me to read this?" Kiyoshi asked with the fox giving a yip of confirmation.

' _This is one seriously strange fox._ ' Kiyoshi couldn't help but think but he looked at the Ema.

' _ **Please help Grandpa's legs get better. -Keita**_ '

Judging from how messy the writing was, Kiyoshi could tell that it was a little kid who wrote this and he felt a little bad.

No amount of wishing would-why was there a leaf on the back of the Ema?

Looking up he saw the Fox's ears twitch before it took off and that was before a voice spoke up.

"Oh, not every day you see young'uns like you around here." An elderly man voiced surprising Kiyoshi as he didn't see the guy hobble up towards him.

"Uh y-yeah, I'm just making a stop to appreciate the architecture." Kiyoshi lied nervously, not sure if anyone would believe him about the fox or not before looking back at the shrine to see how it looked like it was falling apart.

Seeing what he was looking at, the elder gave a nod. "I come by to tidy things up once in awhile, but lately my legs are so achy that I can't keep it up."

On hearing that, Kiyoshi stilled with his eyes glancing down at the Ema before back to the man.

Was this the Grandpa of this Keita kid?

The man didn't seem to notice Kiyoshi's movements as he continued. "I've been trying to keep this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around." He had a forlorn expression. "If my legs don't heal, I can' maintain the shrine and then it will eventually close down."

' _While I don't believe in the whole wishes or prayers I have to say it would be a shame for this to close down._ ' Kiyoshi thought sadly looking at the shrine. ' _Just think of the History here._ '

"Hm? What's that leaf you got in your hands there?" The elder asked taking Kiyoshi by surprise as he actually forgot about the leaf on the Ema, but the man gasped. "Could it be?"

"C-Could what be?" Kiyoshi asked not getting the excitement.

"Way back when, my Grandmother used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there!" The elder explained with Kiyoshi having a skeptic look. "P-Please young man, can I trouble you to spare me that leaf?!"

Tensing a bit at how the man seemed to beg, Kiyoshi just handed the leaf out, not seeing the harm in giving it to him.

The man inspected the leaf before placing it on his leg like that should wor-.

"Oooh! I can feel it! It's working!" The man cried out actually jumping into the air despite the fact that he was struggling to walk earlier. "Amazing! The pain that I've been feeling for so long has up and vanished!"

"Wha?!" Kiyoshi took a step back, obviously not sure what to say about this.

"I'm so grateful that I can even visit my Grandson," The man exclaimed, grinning widely. "I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!"

With that said the man actually ran up the steps to deposit Yen before running past Kiyoshi with all the vigour of a young man leaving the teen stupefied.

D-Did that just happen?

The fox showed itself again sporting a smug look at Kiyoshi's face.

How did-... He's able to go into the TV and summon a monster to fight creatures called Shadows yet here he was questioning leaves? He should probably suspend disbelief at this point.

Checking the offering box, the Fox yipped and ran around Kiyoshi before sitting down patiently and that was when Kiyoshi noticed the bag filled with the same exact leaves he just gave the old man and had a thought.

If those leaves could restore vigor to an old man, what could they do inside of the TV world?

The fox yipped again as if responding to his thoughts with Kiyoshi looking a bit unsure.

… Yeah he's going to tell Narukami about this and see what he thinks.

 _ **~Thursday May 5th, 2011~**_

 _ **-Afternoon-**_

"Leaves?" Narukami asked the next day as Kiyoshi managed to run into him while walking around the small town around the shopping district.

"I know it sounds crazy but if you saw what I did yesterday you would be considering it too." Kiyoshi explained given he was still trying to process the other day.

Narukami frowned, cupping his chin in thought. "Having some sort of medicine like that would be helpful," He admitted given how tired they were after the last few trips. "We'll have to test it out soon."

Kiyoshi gave a nod, agreeing with that and was happy he came to their leader with this information. "Yeah but I think that fox wants money for these leaves, he was turning his head towards the offertory box quite a bit," He said dryly, remembering how confusing this fox was before shrugging. "Well I'm going to head on home-."

"Is something bothering you?" Narukami's blunt question caught Kiyoshi off guard with him tensing up.

"W-What makes you think that?" Kiyoshi cursed the stutter as it was starting to give him away.

Narukami gave him a blank look which made Kiyoshi more nervous given how he couldn't tell what the guy was thinking when he does that. "You've been acting strange since Golden Week began." He elaborated to him in a calm tone.

"I-It's nothing," Kiyoshi got out not wanting to talk about it, but he fidgeted underneath Narukami's stoic look seeing that he wasn't buying it. "I'm serious here."

Narukami kept his look up before something flashed through his mind.

Something that Kiyoshi's Shadow said.

' _ **You're mother abandoned you, your father can't stand you and everyone you tried to befriend just forgets you even exist.**_ '

He and Yosuke never pressed Kiyoshi on that after everything that happened but just thinking on that made Narukami wonder if whatever was bothering Kiyoshi related to that.

Seeing Kiyoshi's nervousness becoming even more apparent, Narukami sighed knowing he won't be able to get anything out of Kiyoshi like this. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen." He offered taking the teen by complete surprise.

"Huh?"

Narukami just walked by, placing a hand on Kiyoshi's shoulder making the boy tense as it was the same shoulder his Katashi grabbed, but unlike him Narukami was showing a friendly gesture before he went to walk off.

"N-Narukami-Sama!" Kiyoshi called out making the transfer student pause before Kiyoshi sighed. "Thank you."

As Narukami left, Kiyoshi however blinked as Diaborosu seemed to be active for some reason. ' _The hell is Tetrakarn and why did my Persona just learn it?_ '

 _ **To Be Continued…**_

 _ **Man Golden Week was actually surprisingly tough for me to type, what the actual hell? But I'm happy to be through it. Especially since it showed him doing his own thing rather than be around the others 24/7.**_

 _ **And we finally get to see a part of the true nature between Katashi and Kiyoshi's relationship-I was unsure of how far to type it because I did hint at physical abuse at one point and I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable with reading this. I don't know if I will go further or not with it but eventually Katashi will get his in the future I can promise that. Whether or not the Investigation Team gets involved in it or not is up in the air.**_

 _ **Also we had Kiyoshi meet the Fox who was the actual Hermit Social Link in the game given how Kiyoshi replaced his for this story it meant that the shrine would go to waste, so I might have Kiyoshi take care of those. I'll try to make the next chapter longer too.**_

 _ **So let's get to the review.**_

 _ **Foxchick1: Thanks and I am sorry for the wait.**_

 _ **KatoriAeku: Haha yeah the glasses part was fun to type, especially with Kiyoshi getting even more comfortable around the others showing a bit more personality. I can see why you would sail on the Kiyoshi/Ayane ship that seemed to be going on because it is cute to read again. I will have more of the Persona's interacting with the others in the future because that was fun. I am sorry for the late chapter though.**_

 _ **Okay Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this chapter-oh right.**_

 _ **One more thing, I updated the makeshift character sheet for Kiyoshi on my Fanfic page that way people could keep up with the attacks he had along with where his Social Link Rank is at.**_

 _ **Okay see everyone around!**_


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